The Truth
by Covette Blue
Summary: When a new scout arrives on the scene, it becomes obvious that the senshi do not know everything that happened in the Silver Millenium. Suspicions and tempers flare as the senshi become dragged further and further into the mystery. What really happened?
1. Default Chapter

ï»¿ _Her eyes twitched, arm contracted. Her hand touched her forehead, and her mouth was set in a grimace of pain. She sat up, and an elf reached out to steady her if necessary. _

"M'lady?" a wolf asked gently. "Are you alright?"

The woman focused hazy eyes on her. "I...don't know. What happened? How'd I get here?   
What year is it?" Suddenly the memories slammed into her mind, and the woman convulsed as though to be sick. Her pupils contracted, and her skin bleached from mahogany to white.

"Lady, maybe you ought..." the elf began, but the woman ripped the covers back from her bed and jumped out of it, then staggered and fell to one knee.

"M'lady!" A white unicorn mare was at her side immediately.

"What year is it, Atlanta?" she repeated tightly, pushing herself to her feet.

The unicorn's eyes softened. "It's been nearly one thousand years, m'lady."

"No!!" Her painstaking cry echoed throughout the giant palace. She stayed like that for a moment, then looked up, tear-filled eyes searching. "Who's there?" The watcher shrank back, uncertain. The action seemed to draw her presence away, for the woman asked no more as tears spilt from her eyes.

*

Rini awoke with a start, clutching her sheets as she sat up. "Another one," she whispered, having a sudden cold chill. The woman had seen her, or at least felt her. The little girl sighed; she didn't mean to spy, but she couldn't stop dreaming that same dream. Glancing at her clock, she saw that it was only six o' clock in the morning, and she had school. Puzzled, the little sailor got out of bed and crept to her desk. She turned on the light and opened a journal.

The girl read over her previous entries. Her dreams of recent had been of this woman, but before she had been asleep. Now she was awake. Did it mean anything at all? Was she just dream, or was she a real person? Usually a young girl with brunette hair and amber eyes talked aloud, as though talking to her, but tonight she was not there. Was she alright?

The pink-haired one picked up a pen and turned to a fresh page. "Dear...DreamJournal," she murmured aloud. "The dreams keep coming. Tonight Ia woke up. She was upset. It's been close to a thousand years since something happened - maybe whatever put her into this sleep." She paused. "The young girl wasn't there tonight. The elf, yellow wolf, and white unicorn were, though. The white unicorn's name is Atlanta." Rini paused again and started a new paragraph. "Ia has more status than I originally thought. They kept calling her 'm'lady' and 'lady,' like she was royalty. Ia has a pretty voice, one that you could listen to for hours and not get tired up. She stood up for a moment, and she was very tall - I'd say six or more feet. She didn't seem very strong, but I don't suppose I would be either if I'd slept for a thousand years. She felt me near and almost caught me. She doesn't seem dangerous, but she could be the kind of person that you don't want to anger. Gotta run. Rini."

As she brushed her hair, she couldn't help from wonder where the girl was. She was the one who (Rini guessed at this) allowed her to watch, even talked to her when she was the only one there, though she never said what was happening, who she was, or anything. She never said the woman's name, only mentioned that she was a relative. Rini took to calling her 'Ia.' The girl looked to be around Serena's age, but she seemed so much older. It seemed that whatever questions Rini thought of, the girl could hear and sometimes answered them. When she had asked the girl her name, she said it would be best to wait.

"But it's been nearly two weeks," Rini said softly, pulling her hair up into her traditional rabbit-ear like positions. She stared at the drawing she had made of the girl on the first night. "What aren't you telling me?"

She looked up as her alarm clock went off. It was six thirty already! She got dressed into her school uniform and sat back down at her desk. Rini picked up her pencil and began to sketch a picture of Ia. A few seconds later, it seemed like a hand had closed around hers and was steadying her drawing. Her eyes widened. With incredible speed, a completely accurate figure of Ia appeared on the paper.

There was a sudden misty apparition beside her, and Rini gasped. A girl around Serena's age stood beside her with brunette hair and amber eyes. She smiled, palms out to show peace. "It's not a dream, Rini. She-" she gestured at the paper, "and I both as real as you. Someday we'll come to earth to stay."

"Wait-" But the girl was gone. Something about her intrigued Rini. Luna suddenly scratched open the latch to her bedroom and rushed in, frowning. "Luna! What's wrong?"

The cat looked around urgently, trotted into the center of her room, sniffed the air. "Rini...was there anyone else in here?"

Rini crossed her fingers behind her back. "No, Luna. Why?"

Luna shook her head. "Nothing. I just thought I felt something." She hurried back towards the walkway and paused. The feline frowned and looked at the girl. "Rini, watch out for yourself." She disappeared down the stairs.

Rini touched the perfectly detailed picture of Ia. A thought occurred to her. Was the girl dangerous? She doubted it; Raye had been teaching how to detect good and evil auras, and there was nothing off about her. "Be careful, stranger. I don't think Luna likes you." She folded up the two pictures and tucked them in her backpack. There was one person she could count on, at least.

*

"Puu!" she called, running towards her guardian. "Puu, wait up!"

"Small Lady!" Trista exclaimed in surprise, turning around. "Don't you have school?"

"Yes, but I need to talk to you," the smaller girl panted, digging through her backpack. "It's very important. The last two weeks I've been having strange dreams about a girl and a relative of hers. I drew one picture the first night of the girl -she won't tell me her name-, and I started this one this morning. After I'd started, it felt like someone was guiding my hand and drew the picture with me. Then the girl appeared beside me. She said she and her relative were real. She also said they'd come to earth to stay. Then she disappeared and Luna ran into my room and acted perturbed. But I think she's harmless. She's very nice."

"Let me see the pictures, Small Lady," Trista said in a tight voice. Rini realized her face was paler than usual, and her hand shook as she took the pictures. She frowned a little at the one of the girl. "If...that is her...." She looked at the next one and gasped. "Oh my God..." She closed her eyes, and Rini saw tears form at their edges. "Oh my God. I can't believe it."

"Are you okay, Puu? Is there something wrong?" Rini asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Small Lady; absolutely fine. There's nothing wrong ." She smiled and looked, surprisingly, genuinely happy. "You've just made me happier in a way you may never realize."


	2. The Proverb

ï»¿ _

Five escaped their fate,  
Their doomed destiny.  
But you cannot outrun what is woven  
Into the strands of time.   
When five return,  
When five are reunited,  
Such a thing as that the earth has never seen before  
Will happen.  
There is no escaping destiny.

_

Something about the ancient Japanese proverb made Serena shudder. She pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled it down, then thrust it into her pocket just as the bell rang. What if the proverb were true? What would happen then? "Such a thing as that the earth has never seen before," she whispered, shivering again. 

"Hey, meat-ball head!" a familiar voice yelled cheerfully.

"Mina!" Serena smiled and turned to face her friend. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." Mina linked elbows with her and tugged her down the hall, giggling furiously. "There's a new senior. My God, Serena, he's _so_ hot!" Not getting the usual response of, 'Where, where?!', she spun her friend around playfully and faced her. "What's wrong, Serena? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Just a proverb we had to read in literature. It totally freaked me out." Serena fought down yet another shudder.

Mina's happy-go-lucky smile and expression vanished. "You too?"

Serena looked at her friend painstakingly. "Something's wrong, Mina. Something's going to happen."

*

Trista stared out the window silently. "Exactly one thousand years ago tomorrow's eve," she murmured, watching the almost-full moon appear in the early evening sky. Tears threatened her eyes, but she blinked them back. She began to hum unconsciously, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

She hadn't been back long - she, Amara, and Michelle had just recently received their talismans. It was odd, living amongst the senshi again. She was fairly happy for the first time in a long time. But there was still a piece of her heart missing, a piece she knew that could never be replaced.

And yet, 'the girl' had said they were coming back. Autumn. She had only been a baby when it had happened, and Trista had thought her dead - just as she had her best friend. She was there, however, and they were coming back. But what about the other three? Where they alive as well? Or had they perished in the Battle?

Standing, she rubbed her arms as a chill cracked itself against her. A sudden tumble of black clouds marched across the pale white moon, blocking its encouraging light for a moment. Trista looked up, frowning a little. Grey clouds, yes; white clouds, yes; but black? With no storm? Its dark shadow fell across her, and the Guardian suddenly found herself seeing nothing but black. Voices, familiar and non, buzzed in her ears, whispering in a language she refused to allow herself to remember.

Then, just like that, it was gone.

Red eyes narrowed, she stared up into the sky. It seemed normal for those not looking, but she was quick to detect a shimmering haze that covered the atmosphere. After a moment, it disappeared. The night birds sang their never-ending songs, cars buzzed by on the road behind her, and her TV screen glowed different colors in her living room.

Her hand reached for the cell phone on her hip reflexively; maybe she should call the other senshi. Halfway there, it stopped as her eyes caught something unusual in the night sky. Trista dropped to a knee, staring at the planet Saturn. It flashed and blazed furiously, then ceased, boasting its orangish hue proudly.

A calm feeling washed over her, and she smiled. "You're back."


	3. The Return

ï»¿ 

_One is returning.  
One will be reunited with Two.  
Together they will try and find  
The other Three. _

Because once the melody begins,  
It has no end.

Serena frowned. Was this a continuation of yesterday's proverb? It certainly seemed so, but the authors of both were unknown. Before the blonde knew what she was doing, she was raising her hand.

"Yes, Serena?" Ms. Haruna said, an exasperated look on her face.

"Is this proverb a second to yesterday's?"

Ms. Haruna looked stunned that the question had something to do with school. "N-no, Serena, it isn't. At least, not that I know of."

"Oh." Serena looked back down at the proverb and suppressed a shudder. She didn't like the feelings she got from the message. Yesterday at study buddies they spent the entire session discussing the proverb. Serena had showed the proverb to Raye, and the girl had agreed that she felt a strange feeling when she read it. 

Serena wrote down the new proverb and listened to Ms. Haruna drone on about a different one half-heartedly. She wanted out of the classroom, wanted to be somewhere where she could concentrate and think about the messages.

When the bell rang, she caught Amy and told her that she wasn't coming to study buddies. When the other girl questioned her, she said she had to pick up some things for her mom. Then she rushed out of the school.

She paused a few blocks away from the building and wondered where she could go to think. Certainly not home with Sammy and Rini driving her crazy. She didn't want to go to Amara and/or Michelle; they took everything too seriously. She considered talking to Trista but then remembered that she was usually with Amara and Michelle and decided against it.

Serena heaved a sigh. "Where's a girl to go?" she murmured, watching the busy traffic rush by. "Ah!" she exclaimed with a smile. "A library!"

*

Serena stood on tiptoes and reached for the book, but she was far too short. She jumped for it, but even then it didn't work. She gave an unhappy squeal as she landed. The girl was suddenly aware of a person standing beside her, and a slender hand reached up and grabbed the book effortlessly. "Uh?" Serena looked up at the person beside her.

It was girl about Amara's age or a little older, but she was incredibly tall. Serena figured her to be at least six foot three or four. She had light purple eyes and a darker shade of hair that was up in a high ponytail. She was slender but had muscles that indicated some sort of workout. For her age, the little leader figured, she certainly was well developed. The blonde stifled a gasp as a cloudy memory came into her mind. She'd seen her, known her, before, from somewhere... 

"Here." The girl handed her the book with a smile, and Serena took it, dumbfounded. 

"Th-thanks," she stammered.

"You're welcome." The girl turned, walked back down the aisle, and turned to the right.

"Hey, wait!" Serena raced after her and looked to the right, but the girl was gone. _That's strange; she didn't have time to get far_, she frowned. She stared down at the book in her hands. _Proverbs and Their Meanings._

She checked out the book and tucked it into her backpack. The moment she stepped out of the library, her communicator went off. She flipped it open and saw the face of Lita. "Serena, an enemy's attacking near the downtown shopping market! Hurry!"

"I'm on it!" Serena tore off down the road. Luckily, the market wasn't very far from the library, and she was there within five minutes. She hid behind a building and transformed, leaving her backpack behind. Sailor Moon quickly bolted onto the scene.

And found herself facing a new enemy.

"Wha? What happened to the heart snatchers?!" she squealed at Sailor Mars.

"I don't know, but I'm willing to guess that it had something to do with the appearance of the talismans," her fiery friend replied, watching Venus and Jupiter fight at the new monster. "He's pretty powerful."

They were distracted by the arrival of Sailors Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto. Pluto looked upset, she noticed. As the headstrong Uranus and Neptune began to attack, Pluto stood back and watched. Sailor Moon saw for a fleeting instant a look of complete dread and horror cross her face.

Before she could question the scout, the enemy blasted the other two senshi away and threatened to kill them all. Sailor Moon heard a peculiar sound and turned around slightly to see Pluto close to tears. The older woman suddenly bolted towards the enemy, stopped at the front line of the senshi, as though she were waiting for something - or some_one_.

Suddenly there was a shout from a person, and a blast of bright light erupted from behind the monster and slammed into him. He was flattened to the ground and nearly killed by the explosion. There was a clatter of footsteps, like someone running, coming towards them.

A senshi-outfitted figure stopped shortly behind the fallen enemy and watched him stir. Sailor Moon watched in utter astonishment as the figure, a girl that looked like she was around Pluto's age, showed an expression much like that of Pluto's. A sword glimmered in her hands in the dying rays of the sun.

When the new sailor plunged the sword into the enemy's back, he screamed, then roared, like an animal. There was a brilliant flash of light, and a black shadow erupted from the man's back. The body left behind went through the stage of decomposing within seconds, leaving behind the bleached bones of a skeleton. The shadow gave a mutinous shriek and whirled on the girl.

"Sailor Moon." The startled blonde looked up at Pluto. "Destroy the monster."

"But I'll hit her," Sailor Moon protested.

"Do it. It won't hurt her." Pluto looked ready to run into the battle herself.

Sailor Moon hesitated. The shadow reeled back and plummeted towards the girl, and the scene made something inside of the leader snap. She recognized the scene, but more importantly, she recognized the familiar words she was yelling. "Moon Crisis Power, Make-Up!!" Super Sailor Moon appeared, then shouted, "Moon Rainbow Heart Ache!!" Just as the shadow was about to hit the girl, who was braced for the onslaught, the attack hit it.

Both shadow and girl vanished in the bright light. When it died, the shadow was gone, and the newcomer could be clearly seen. The girl was standing and facing them with a slight smile. She looked to be at least six foot five with purple eyes and a darker shade of hair. Her hair had beads like Sailor Moon's, only they were crystal, not pearl, and went all the way along her bangs and dropped into the middle of her forehead with a sapphire blue tear-drop. Everything about her was dark orchid - minus a brooch on her bow that was red as blood. Her gloves ended below in her wrist in a triangular shape. Her boots were like Sailor Moon's, but oval gems that continuously swirled a foggy silver/gold replaced the crescent moons. Her white body suit shimmered in the hazy light as though it had been splashed with glitter. The body suit had the sleeves of the SuperS uniforms, and they seemed rainbow-colored (it all depended on how she moved). She was very beautiful.

But the thing that got the senshi most was that she was familiar. Something about her nagged all of their minds but none of them could place it. It was like they had seen, maybe even known her, somewhere or sometime long ago.

"Well," the sailor said, looking directly at Pluto. "I'm back." She seemed near tears.

"But I thought..." Pluto began, trembling, and tears began to race down her cheeks. 

The sailor shook her head, and a few tears escaped her eyes. "No."

Pluto smiled, then raced up to her. The two embraced - _like old friends._


	4. Can You Keep A Secret?

ï»¿ "Who is that?" Mini Moon whispered, watching the two senshi. 

"I'm not sure," Tuxedo Mask replied. Yet something about seeing them together made a foggy memory cloud his mind. He knew that sailor, he was certain he did. He glanced to his left and saw Uranus finally stagger to her feet. She'd been hit badly.

*

"Listen," the new sailor murmured, pulling away. "I cannot stay here."

Pluto looked up at her with a pained expression. "Don't leave again. Please."

"It's not that." The sailor swallowed and shook her head, took a step back. The green-haired Guardian frowned a little; her friend was breathing too hard after the little work she had done. "I shouldn't be here."

"What's wrong with you?" Pluto asked, reaching out a hand to steady her.

The other closed her eyes and sighed, indicating she needed to hurry at what she was doing. "I used all my powers in the Battle. I haven't regained it all back yet. I'm still weak. I shouldn't have blasted that monster. It was too much. I have to go. I promise on my life I'm not leaving and we'll meet again."

"Wait. What about Lia, Ocean, and Sky?"

The sailor groaned and looked away. "I don't know what happened to Ocean and Sky. I don't know where they are." She looked at her friend with tears running down her cheeks. "Lia...oh, good Lord, not again..." The sailor sank to one knee, clutching her chest. She was shaking with pain. "Lia's dead, Trista."

"Solar-" Pluto started towards her in alarm, but the woman abruptly vanished. "No." Her eyes got wide and frightened, like a trapped deer staring into the eyes of the hunter. "No...no, no, no..." Shakily, the Time Guardian fell to her knees, one hand clutching the Time Key for support.

*

Super Sailor Moon gasped when the sailor vanished. She could tell she had been in pain. The blonde looked over at Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Jupiter. All of their previous injuries were gone! Sailor Moon turned her gaze back upon Pluto and jogged to her. "Pluto, are you okay?" she asked as she knelt beside her friend.

"I will be." Her response was quiet, her voice tight.

"Who was she?" The question was as gentle as she could ask around her excitement. A new senshi!

"An old friend." Pluto wiped her eyes, but it did little to daunt her tears. "Her name is Sailor Solar System; Sailor Solar for short. She's the protector of the solar system and the senshi." She closed her eyes. "And she's back."

*

"Mini Moon," a soft, familiar voice said quietly.

Mini Moon gasped quietly in surprise. "You're here."

"Yes, and so is she. Mini Moon, Rini, she is too weak. She shouldn't be here and she knows it. And yet...even in her weakness..." the girl's voice trailed off.

"She's stronger than Super Sailor Moon," she murmured in surprise. "Is there anything I can do? To help her?"

"Believe in her, princess. Trust in her. She is one of the greatest warriors ever to live, but she is keeping herself banished from their memories at Queen Serenity, your grandmother's, wish."

"But why? And why does Puu remember her so well?"

"I do not know the answer to the first, but I do know that she and Pluto were separated halfway through the Battle. She went to Serenity, saved her life. Seeing the war over and near death herself, Pluto went back to the Gates before Serenity could erase her memories."

"You mean, they're such good friends, and they never got to say good-bye?" The girl nodded. "How sad. Wait. How do you know all this?"

"Isn't it though?" The girl's amber eyes softened. "I must go now, little sailor, but I'll see you in the night." It was Mini Moon's turn to nod. "I know because I've been taught. I know because I was there." Her eyes widened. "Help Pluto. She's going to go through a difficult stage in her life now, as is my aunt."

"Your aunt?" But the girl was already gone.

*

The senshi had grouped around Pluto by the time she finally stood. "I know you all are going to have questions, but I can only answer a few. Her name is Sailor Solar, and she's an old friend of mine. I-I'll explain more later, but I have request for all of you." They stared at her silently. "Don't tell Luna, Artemis, or Diana about her. Please."

"Why?" No one was surprised that Uranus asked the question.

"Just...please, don't."

"They're only cats, Pluto. They couldn't hurt her," Mercury objected logically.

"They can speak, and that's all they'll need. And...they're not just cats. Luna and Artemis have powers just like all of you. They may not be able to destroy her, but by God, they'll try. With Solar in her currant state, she won't be able to protect herself against them. Just promise me none of you will tell!"

"Promise," they chorused randomly, hesitantly.

As they began to file away through the night, Pluto grabbed Mini Moon's arm. "Small Lady," she said, dropping to one knee so she wouldn't have to raise her voice. "Don't tell them about the girl, either. Tell her to watch out, for her sake and Solar's. Please, they're so important to me, I don't want them to get hurt again."

"I promise, Puu." She hugged her friend tightly. "I promise I won't tell."

*

Rini fell asleep quickly that night. It took, it seemed, longer for the dream to take place than usual. But when it did, she saw the girl and warned her. "I don't know what's going on, but when you come here to stay, you must watch out for Luna and Artemis. Pluto said this for Solar as well - they may try to hurt her."

"Why would Luna and Artemis hurt me or her? They were Queen Serenity's guardians, weren't they?"

"Her advisors, to be exact." The girl hesitated. "I bet something happened in the past."

"But At-,uh, Solar got along with Queen Serenity very well. They were great friends," the girl said, puzzled.

"But that doesn't mean Luna and Artemis got along with her. Something must've happened. Maybe we'll find out someday."

The girl smiled. "Maybe. Until then, we'll avoid the fuzzies to the best of our ability."

"Fuzzies." Rini giggled. "They'd kill you if they heard that."


	5. Butterflies

ï»¿ "Class! I'd like to have your attention, please," Mr. Kineo said, clapping his hands together once as the bell rang. He smiled and seemed happy for once. "We have a new student today." There was a ripple of whispers. A new student? In advanced trigonometry? A knock sounded, and Mr. Kineo smiled again. "Come in." A tall girl walked in, looked the least bit nervous, and smiled. "Class, I'd like you to welcome Ms. Atia Tamuchi." 

The girl that entered the classroom was tall and by far one of the prettiest women Darian'd ever seen. She had pretty dark orchid eyes and a slightly darker shade of hair up in a high ponytail. Her skin was like Trista's with maybe a hint more copper to it. The girls' school uniform usually came to slightly above the girls' knees. Apparently, though, because of Atia's height, it went halfway up her thighs and was almost mini. But it was astoundingly cute. Atia's features were bright and cheerful, and she looked to be without a care in the world.

Darien frowned a little and shook his head. He recognized her from somewhere. The memories swirled like fog in his mind. Just when he thought he could place her, the memory was chased away by his teacher's voice. "Mr. Shields! As the top student in the class, I'd like for you to show Ms. Tamuchi around campus."

Mutterings of "Lucky," "Maybe I should try harder," and "Damn," echoed around the room. Darien didn't deny the fact that Atia was beautiful and hoped that Serena wouldn't get any ideas if she saw him showing the girl around campus.

The girl took the empty seat at his table and put her book bag on the ground. She pulled the advanced trigonometry book from her bag and sat it on the table along with a notepad and a pencil. For all her smiling, Darien could've sworn he saw a flash look of sorrow cross her features. "Um...we're on page 248."

"Thanks." Darien detected a light accent on her voice. The girl brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and opened her book. "Ah. We've already done this at my old school," she muttered. "Like learning my multiplication tables all over again."

"You really think this stuff is easy?" Darien asked, surprised. He was, at the moment, barely making a passing grade. At the head of the class, he hardly dared to guess what the other students were making. Atia nodded. "Would you mind helping me sometime after school?"

"No, I wouldn't."

"Are you an honor student?" he couldn't from asking.

"Yes. I've been allowed to skip three grades so far, and I'll be doing another at this rate," she murmured, staring at the hardest part of the book.

"You're only seventeen?!" he hissed, eyes wide. She flashed him a smile.

Mr. Kineo started in the lesson, and the two went quiet. Ten minutes later, Darien glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Atia staring out the window. He followed her glassy gaze and saw a cluster of butterflies. They almost appeared to be dancing. He glanced back at Atia and saw her smiling. Looking again at the butterflies, their dance became more complicated. Not a dance, he realized with a jolt. A waltz. A familiar waltz. It took all of his effort not to get up and perform it. And yet, he suddenly realized that he had never waltzed that waltz in his life. 

The class drew to a close, and Mr. Kineo wrote the assignment on the board. Atia regretfully turned her attention to it, but Darien watched in astonishment as, when she stopped looking, the butterflies stopped and flew away. The class groaned as they saw an assignment of twenty-seven difficult problems. Atia sighed, bringing him back to reality. "Oh, great."

"I thought you liked this stuff," he managed, staring at her in awe.

The girl didn't seem to notice. "I do." She shoved her things into her backpack. "I just hope I get it all done so I have time for dance class and to ride my horse." She stood up, and he was quick to follow. She was as tall as he was.

"You...ah...have a horse?" he asked as they walked out of the room. He wasn't used to seeing people as tall as himself, and he was still unsettled by the butterflies.

"Yeah. His name is Sleetcold. He's a handful, but I love him."

"Sleetcold. Isn't the palace of the Norse goddess Hel, daughter of Loki?"

"Yes, it is!" It was her turn to stare at him incredulously. "You're good. Nobody else knows that."

"You named him that on purpose?"

She nodded. "It fits his temperament perfectly. What class do you have now?"

"Advanced expository writing."

She snorted. "Me too. Please tell me this class isn't as boring as that one was."

He laughed. "I believe this one is a bit more interesting."

*

Serena looked up as a brunette-haired girl walked into the classroom and up to Ms. Haruna. She asked the teacher something, then handed her a note when she nodded. "Students," Ms. Haruna said as she stood. "It seems we have a new student. This is Autumn Tamuchi. She's just transferred here from...uh..." Ms. Haruna frowned at the paper.

Autumn smiled good-naturedly. "Gastahdylia." Her voice held a light accent, and her amber eyes seemed to dance. She truly did look exotic with her light brown skin and oddly angled eyes. Serena found herself entranced by the girl. She looked almost familiar...

"Um, yes. Autumn, please take a seat beside Serena." She gestured towards the blonde. "And, Serena, I don't know why I'm saying this, but...I'd like you to show Autumn around."

"Sure, Ms. Haruna," Serena replied, surprised. As Autumn sat beside her, she smiled a greeting. "Hullo."

"Hi. Serena, right?"

Something about the girl's friendly attitude made Serena smile. "Right."

Halfway through the class, Serena glanced over at Autumn. The girl wasn't paying the least bit of attention. She was staring out the window, and her eyes had a glazed look about them. Butterflies flew around in the pretty spring weather, and she thought she saw them dance in patterns. The more she watched, the more perfected the dances became. A hint of a smile rested on Autumn's lips, and the dazed look in her eyes became a sparkle of contentment.

Ms. Haruna closed her history book. "Class, please take out your literature books."

Autumn sighed and put her book away. The moment she looked away from the window, the butterflies flew away. She bent down to get out her textbook. "How'd you do that?" Serena hissed as they both leaned down.

"Do what?"

"Make the butterflies dance." 

Ms. Haruna's voice prevented Autumn from answering. "Please turn to page 389, where we'll continue our study of proverbs."

_Secrets surround you,  
And you are blind to the truth.  
Only four know the truth,  
The light, what was forgotten. _

The Enemy is waiting,  
Watching, listening, planning.  
He will be the end...  
Unless...

The notes are never the same.

_Unless?! Unless what?!_ Serena shrieked inwardly. She heard a stifled gasp and looked first at Autumn, then at Amy and Lita.

Autumn was pale and looked like she was going to pass out. Amy and Lita looked uncomfortable, and Serena herself felt uneasy. The words were no joke. Something, somewhere, was happening. These weren't just words; they were real.

Something very strange was going on.


	6. New Arrival, Old Mistake

ï»¿ Darien wasn't paying much attention to the astronomy teacher. He knew what most did not know about the planets, and he used the time to think. Mrs. Unichi was talking about the Asteroid Belt, about how it was possible that it had once been a planet destroyed by a meteor. He heard a barely audible sound and looked at Atia. 

The girl was pale and looked like she'd been caught in the act of a crime. There was a faint snap as she broke her pencil into two pieces. She whispered a single word that he couldn't understand and closed her eyes. When she opened them, tears shimmered in her eyes. Atia put one hand on her leg, the one nearest him, and the other glumly picked up a pen.

The boy reached under the table and put his hand over hers. She looked at him with a slightly startled expression, then smiled sadly and laced his fingers with hers. Her hand was ice cold. He glanced up at her, and she had the look of one that was upset but comforted.

When the bell rang for lunch, Atia sat while Darien stood. "Are you hungry?" he asked gently, not bringing up in incident.

"Not really." She put her stuff into her backpack and stood, then followed him out of the room and into the lunch-rush melee. The girl shoved the bag into her locker, then followed Darien down to the cafeteria. Atia got a soda, Darien the regular entree.

"Let's go outside," Darien said. He figured she could use a break from the school. The two wandered outside and found a tree to sit under while the rest of student body played around. Atia watched some of the older boys wrestle and was startled when she heard Darien call one of them. "Andrew!"

A sandy-blonde haired fellow jogged up to them. "Hey, Darien! What's up?"

"Nothin' much. Andrew, this is Atia. Atia, this is Andrew. He's a close friend of mine."

"You're the new girl, huh?" Andrew sat in front of them.

Atia smiled. "Word gets around quickly, I see."

"Like wildfire."

*

Rini sighed and tapped her foot. Serena was late again. After school, the two had planned to go the store to get Serena's parents an anniversary present. She heard her future mother's voice and turned around to face her - and found herself face-to-face with the girl from her dreams.

The brunette looked startled at seeing her but smiled. "Hello, Rini."

"Hi!" Rini smiled widely.

"You two know each other?" Serena asked in surprise.

"We met at the dance academy," the newcomer smoothly lied with a smile. Rini blinked in confusion but smiled in agreement. How had the girl known she was taking dance lessons? The girl glanced at her watch and sighed. "I have to go. I'm supposed to meet a cousin of mine that lives..."

There was a small burst of air as someone rushed up behind the brunette and clamped her hands over the girls' eyes. Serena heard a familiar voice laugh and whirled around to see Darien. She shrieked and ran over to him, hugging him tightly.

The girl was shouting and batting at the person behind her, who was, in turn, laughing happily and refusing to let her go. She was talking so fast it almost seemed like she was speaking in a different language. The brunette finally wriggled out of the taller girl's grasp and spun around to face her.

Atia was laughing fit to burst. Rini stifled a gasp and stared at her. _Ia...it's you! _"You...were...so...angry, Autumn!" she managed, laughter dying.

Autumn gave a fake scowl. "Gee, I wonder why," she said sarcastically. Then she smiled. "This is Rini, the one I was telling you about from the academy. Rini, this is my cousin, Atia."

"Ah." Atia stared at her with a smile. "Nice to meet you." Rini saw a hint of confusion in her eyes. 

"And this is Serena," Autumn added.

"Hey! I recognize you," Serena exclaimed. Atia stared at her blankly. "At the library?"

Atia's face lit up with a smile. "Oh, yes! That's right! I'm sorry; I should've recognized the pigtails. It's cute," she said, cocking her head to one side before Serena could give an outburst. "Maybe you could show me how to do it sometime." 

Serena beamed. "Sure."

"This is Darien," Rini said with a grin to Autumn. "He's a friend."

"Of everyone, so it seems." Autumn smiled at Serena, who was still hanging on his arm.

"He's my boyfriend," Serena giggled happily.

"You two make a cute couple." Atia smiled. Darien searched her face but saw no sign or surprise or remorse - only approval that resembled that of a guardian.

"Wait. You came up here with him, didn't you?" Serena squeaked, and they all saw a jealous storm coming on.

"We're in college together. I was showing him how to do some advanced trigonometry and chemistry problems. You're lucky, Serena. There aren't many boys like him anymore." The praise mellowed the blonde.

_Strange,_ Darien thought. _It's like Atia knows how to deal with her, like she's known her before..._

"Come on, Atia." Autumn tugged her wrist. "You were going to show me how to jump brick walls on Radiguna today - remember?"

"Ne? Oh, yeah. See you guys tomorrow," Atia said, waving. "I thought you knew how to jump bricks," she added to her cousin as the two turned and walked off.

"I do, but Guna doesn't..." Autumn's voice was lost in the rush hour traffic as they disappeared from view.

"Darien, Serena, listen to me." Rini grabbed their hands and stared up at them. "You cannot tell Luna, Artemis, or Diana that you met them. Please."

"Why?" Serena asked with a frown.

"Just please don't."

*

No sooner had the trio purchased a present for Serena's parents than the new enemies attacked again. They were quick to transform and arrive on the scene. There was no sign of Sailor Solar, Sailor Moon noticed. The leader acted quickly as she saw the other senshi arrive. 

"Stop right there!"

"Wha? Who are you?!" a woman demanded, dropping her victim to the ground.

"I am pretty soldier Sailor Moon, champion of love of and justice! And in the name of Moon, I shall punish you!" Sailor Moon delivered her famous speech along with her hand signals. 

For a brief instant, the upside-down black heart on the woman's forehead faded, as though the speech had reminded her of someone. She shook her head, smiled. Turned towards Sailor Moon. "Well, Sailor Moon, I hope you had a nice today - because it'll be your last!" With that, she hurtled a blast of power at the girl.

An arrow suddenly flew into the middle of the power, and the goldish mist vanished. The woman shrieked and looked around for the source, but none of the senshi held bows. Mini Moon smiled; she recognized the arrow. And that could only mean one thing.

Sailor Mars took advantage of the woman's distraction and fired. "Celestial Fire Surround!!" She scored a hit on the woman, who yelped in surprise and whirled back around to face them.

"Why you-"

"Sparkling White Pressure!!" Sailor Jupiter doubled the blow.

The woman shrieked again and released an almost unearthly amount of power at all the senshi. A single, sharp word, strong and clear, echoed throughout the park. The power exploded harmlessly and vanished. "Damnit!" The enemy stomped her foot and was obviously seething. "Show yourself!"

There was a rustling sound in the tree behind the woman, and the enemy turned about. A figure swung down from the tree and planted her feet in the woman's gut, sending her crashing to the ground. The figure did a neat front-tuck in the air and landed gracefully, then turned around. "Anything else?"

She was a sailor scout about the age of the Inner Senshi and was as tall as Jupiter. The girl had long brunette hair and amber eyes. She was lean and muscular with well-defined curves. Her fuku was like nothing they'd ever seen before. The skirt was a slightly darker shade of lime green. Her high heels had a band around her ankle, like Venus's, and were the same color as the skirt. Her gloves began at her wrist, leaving her arms bare. Her choker and glove bands were that same shade of green, along with her neck flap. The bows were a light lavender. Her bodice was what struck them as odd. It ended above her skirt and only reappeared a small distance below her cleavage, leaving her midriff bare. She had no tiara but had a black cross that had squares at the end of the lines on her forehead. 

Mini Moon gasped and looked up at Pluto. The woman had a funny expression on her face, astonishment and dread mixed into one disbelieving look. She whispered a word so faint that the littler sailor didn't think she had heard her.

The enemy woman wobbled back to her feet, coughing. "You'll pay for that!"

"Oh?" The girl picked the arrow out of the ground, stared at it, crossed her arms and glared at the woman. "Your power didn't even leave a mark on my arrow!" In truth, the slender little shaft had not the slightest blemish whatsoever on it.

The woman hissed, then sneered. "What planet are you from, brat?"

"I am from no planet but my heritage is from the planet Saturn, from which I am a sub-sailor of." Her soft voice grew hard, and her amber eyes hardened. "I am Sailor Destruction, scout of destruction and devastation. I'm here to aid the senshi in the fight between them and the one you call master."

The woman snorted. "None of you will ever defeat him. He's more powerful than you can ever imagine or hope to be." She paused, as though reconsidering. "Well, maybe there's one. But he'd destroy her in a heartbeat."

In the time that it took to blink, the new sailor had a bow in her hand, and the arrow was strung in it. She released the string, and the arrow flew straight into the heart of the woman. She screamed and fell to the ground. A giant black shadow erupted from her back with a bird-like cry. The woman's body went through the stages of decomposing within five seconds, leaving behind a complete skeleton.

The brown-haired sailor scout backed away from the shadow, but she wasn't afraid. Pluto gently grabbed her arm when she came within range. "You've grown up."

"Pluto!" Sailor Destruction whirled around and faced her with a radiant smile. "Do you know how long I've waited to see you?!"

"Quite awhile, I'd gather." She stared at the girl. "You look just like your mother. I'm so glad to see you." The girl hugged her. "Is Solar with you?" she whispered.

"She's here."

"Uranus World Shaking!!" Uranus struck at the shadow, but it flew up into the sky and avoided the blast. Angry now, it dived at her. The sandy-blonde saw red eyes buried deep within the shadow. In the beast's eyes she saw people, great multitudes of people, fighting to the death. It held her transfixed, and she couldn't move.

"Uranus!" Neptune leapt at her cousin, pushed her out of the way of the oncoming shadow. She didn't seem to have time to move, but then abruptly fell beside her cousin as though she had been roughly pushed. There was flash of light, and Sailor Solar was on the other side of where Neptune had been.

The shadow screamed, and the senshi cowered under the sound. They had no time to question either of the new senshi. It circled above them, like a predator bird hovering over its prey. Jupiter and Mercury shot at it, but it did no good, only made it more angry.

"Pink Sugar Heart Attack!!" No one expected Mini Moon's attack to hit it, but it did. The shadow shrieked again, took on the shape of a diving bird.

"Black Lightening Bolt Ace!!" Solar shot at the bird, and it rocketed back up towards the sky, shoved back by her attack. It squawked angrily, wing-like mist struggling to get to the senshi. The power seemed frozen in the air, keeping the bird away from the senshi.

Destruction lined up an arrow towards it, but then lowered the bow. "What are you waiting for?! Shoot it!" Uranus said in alarm.

"Destruction, shoot it," Pluto murmured, staring over at Solar in worry. "She can't hold it back forever."

"It's not my place. Sailor Moon." She turned towards the other girl. "You have to destroy it."

"Why me?"

"Because only you have the power. I would only make it angrier." Destruction gave a faint smile.

Sailor Moon regarded her in silence. She looked familiar. Not like Solar, but like she knew her in real life, not just in her memories. "Right. Moon Crisis Power!!"

The shadow snapped.

With a blood-curling scream, it shoved itself against Solar's power with all its might. Solar's outstretched arms began buckling, and she gasped in surprise. As it continued to fight, it began pushing her back. Her determination to keep it away showed by the grooves left in the ground by her boots.

"Just let it go, Solar!" Pluto ran over to her friend. "Let it go."

"It didn't like her power-up; it would kill her. It moves faster than light when angered." Her voice didn't sound as strained as it should've been. The shadow suddenly flew straight up, and Solar fell back with a curse. Her power disappeared. "It's almost like someone else is controlling it..."

Destruction stared in horror as lightening began to flash inside of the shadow. "Solar! What's it doing?!"

"I don't know." The woman was still sitting, rubbing her hands together as if they pained her. "It looks like..." She suddenly heard a high-pitched screaming. "Ach!" It hurt her ears beyond any reasoning, and she clamped her hands over them. Pluto and Destruction heard the noise as well, and it brought the littler senshi to her knees. The others didn't seem to hear it. 

"Puu??" Mini Moon asked in alarm, running up to her. "Puu, what's wrong??"

"Make it stop! It hurts!"

That was all Super Sailor Moon needed. "Rainbow Moon Heart Ache!!" The shadow screamed and vanished into the air.

"Oh..." Solar removed her hands from her ears. They were covered in blood, and she blinked hazily. The sound had made her light-headed. "Ow..."

"My head." Pluto removed her hands with a wince. Blood trickled out of her left ear, and she put her hand back on it and pushed on it to stifle the stream. "Mph..." Destruction was still on her knees with her hands on her ears. Mini Moon knelt beside her.

"What was that about? What's wrong with you three?" Tuxedo Mask asked, concerned.

"You didn't hear it." It was a statement, not a question. Solar stood up, head pounding. _Just like before._ "It was a screaming noise, like a whistle. I've only heard it one other time in my life, and I had hoped that it would be the last."

"You don't mean...?" Pluto stared up at her. Solar touched her friend's wrist, and the bleeding and blood vanished. "It can't be...?"

"I don't know." Solar turned to Destruction and touched the girl's shoulder. The brunette sat up and stared at her uncertainly. "I...it just doesn't make sense!" she said in frustration. "The only thing I know is that the shadow bird was getting ready to release some sort severe energy blast. That was the lightning. The whistle was the sound it produced as a result of its gathering power."

"You said you heard it before," Uranus said evenly. "Where?"

Solar looked down briefly. "In a battle long since over."

"Solar. Why do I feel like I've known you before?" Super Sailor Moon asked gently.

The woman looked hesitant to answer. She glanced at Pluto, and the Guardian nodded. "Because you have. A long time ago. I knew all of you. And you knew me. But now..." she smiled sadly. "Now you don't know me."

"But we will in time, won't we?" Venus asked.

Solar's eyes softened. "You want the truth." Ten pairs of eyes watched her. "The truth is, I don't know. It all depends on fate. I'd like for you to get to know me...but if it wasn't meant to be..."

"Solar!" Pluto grabbed her arm. "What are you talking about?!"

"I'm here to try to make right what I did wrong. It may cost me my life to fix the mistake I made back in the Silver Millennium." Pluto went pale. Solar stared at the ground quietly, heaved a sigh.

"What sort of mistake?" Neptune asked with a frown.

The scout glanced up at the sky and shook her bangs out of her eyes. "Falling in love."


	7. Powers of A Princess

ï»¿ "Atia!" Atia turned around and smiled as she saw Darien. 

"Good morning," she said as he caught up with her. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and she glanced in the general direction with a frown. It was like the sound made her suspicious or said something only she could understand.

"Good morning. Looks like it's going to storm," Darien observed, glancing up as lightning lit up the sky.

"Look out!" Atia laughed suddenly, taking off a playful jog. Darien followed her gaze and saw the sheet of rain coming, then took off after her with a yelp. They were both too late and got thoroughly soaked by the time they entered the school building.

Atia was smiling as she wrung out the water in her ponytail. Suddenly a good portion of the student body came sliding into the building, soaked through and through, more so than Atia and Darien. Some of the boys slid, creating a barricade and causing a traffic jam to form behind them. Darien couldn't help from laughing, and Atia began giggling.

A bell rang, signaling ten minutes till class started. The two walked to their lockers and then to the restrooms in an attempt to dry themselves off from the rainwater.

Atia stared at herself in the mirror. Her make-up, thankfully, wasn't running. Her shirt was plastered to her along with her skirt, and she made a face. The boys would be staring for sure. She grabbed some paper towels and rubbed her face dry, then her legs and arms. She dabbed helplessly at her uniform and sighed. "Damn rain," she muttered, heading out of the bathroom.

The school was in an uproar.

Frightened students were running around, screaming at the top of their lungs. Shrieks of "Monster!" rang out from every direction. Atia found herself caught in the tide of terrified teenagers, but she was able to hold her ground. They were all going one way, which meant she had to go the other.

*

A blast of water knocked the monster away from the victim in front of her. "Hey! Who are you?!"

"Lured from the future to the past, under the planet Neptune, I am Sailor Neptune!"

"Also pulled to the past and under the planet Uranus, I am Sailor Uranus!"

"Drawn from the Gates of Time under the planet Pluto, I am Sailor Pluto!"

"And you're finished!" the trio chorused.

"Hardly!" the woman snorted. With a shout, she blasted at the senshi, who scattered like ninepins. "Now hold still, this won't hurt a bit."

"She must think we're stupid or something," Uranus retorted with a smirk.

"We can't destroy it until Sailor Moon gets here," Neptune reminded her.

Pluto looked out the window. They had been the coffee shop next door when it had happened, hence their quick arrival. But this storm would more than likely prevent the others from arriving. What if that was the whole plan?

"I see one of you understands!" the woman laughed with glee. Pluto's eyes widened. This monster could read minds! "As I said, my master is no fool!"

"That's what you think." Sailor Solar stood in the doorway, arms crossed. "He's the biggest fool I know." She started to walk forward. "He played my heart, and now he'll pay the price."

The woman clearly looked uneasy. "You. You're the one he talks about. You're the one who can foil all his plans." She began to back up as Solar advanced on her. "He says you know that you can't beat him and that you'll give up."

Solar's eyes flashed. "He should know me well enough by now. I never give up. I'll fight him to the death for the pain he caused everyone, for what he did to the senshi." A sword glimmered into existence in her hand. "He'll pay for killing my sister."

"Solar, no!" Pluto cried, rushing towards her friend, but it was too late. The sword cleaved the woman's head right off of her shoulders. She didn't even have time scream. Blood gushed freely, and the headless corpse fell to the ground as a bird-like shadow soared from its back.

"We can't possibly beat that thing, not without Sailor Moon!" Uranus shouted in alarm.

"How easily you doubt." The sword vanished from the sailor's hand. "Hey, bird!" The thing roared, and the college shook. "Is that all you can do?!" It roared again and dived at her. She watched it come expressionlessly. When it was no more than five feet away from her, she jumped an impossible height - and remained hovering in the air as it crashed into the floor.

Floundering, the shadow tried to regain altitude. Solar landed in front of it, and it squawked angrily. "Be still." As though it understood her, as though she commanded it, the bird ceased its struggle. Frowning, she touched the part of the bird closest to her. "Return to your master. Tell him I'll be waiting." She backed away from it. "Now go."

The shadow shoved itself brutally off of the ground, crashed through the ceiling, and disappeared from view. A fading scream echoed through the air, and rain lashed down in the hole in the roof. "How did you do that?!" Neptune demanded, alarmed.

"My powers go beyond that of normal boundaries." The gap in the ceiling and floor vanished. The incoming rain disappeared, the skeleton with it.

"Who are you really, Sailor Solar?" Uranus demanded to know, stalking up to her. Solar stared her dead in the eye, a warning look that a mother would give to her daughter but loved her too much to raise her hand to strike her. It confused her. "Don't do that!" Uranus shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"You know me, Uranus. Stop fighting. If it were my decision, I'd give you all back your memories. But I cannot. I won't go against Queen Serenity's promise. I won't let you remember me."

"Can't you see? That's just it! We _don't_ remember you! How do we know you're not the enemy in disguise?" Neptune cried.

"If you really thought that," Solar replied evenly, "then you would've killed me the moment you first saw me. But you remember me a little, with or without your memories. I can tell. And so can you."

"Just tell us. Who are you?" Uranus struggled not to think of the past, tried to stare at her without staring into her eyes.

Solar smiled a little. "I am many people. But you know one better than the others." Uranus's eyes began to narrow, and Neptune had a slight frown on her pretty face. "I am the princess of Saturn."

"P-princess of Saturn?" Uranus stammered, taking a leery step backwards. "Planet of destruction?"

Solar's face ceased into a slight scowl. "That would be Luna and Artemis. Saturn is perfectly harmless."

"But isn't Destruction a sailor from Saturn as well?" Neptune found her voice.

"Yes." Solar was becoming distracted by something. "Destruction is a princess as well. My twin sister was the queen. Destruction was her daughter." She paused, looking lost in thought. "Pluto! There's a tornado coming. Take these two and the Inner Senshi to your house."

"I don't have your powers."

Solar grabbed her friend's hand. Their hands glowed, and Pluto stared at her incredulously. "Now you do." Solar hugged her. "Whatever you hear during this storm, pay it no heed. You may hear any of their voices. But don't listen to them." The sailor vanished.


	8. Storm of Hate

ï»¿ Solar ran through the student body, but none saw her. She was invisible to those who did not know her. She had to find the prince. She found him quickly, and she saw that he saw her. He was obviously startled to see her. 

"My lord prince." She did not kneel or even incline her head, but Darien saw more respect in her eyes than either of the two actions could've provoked. Her voice was almost accented, the word 'prince' clipped in an odd dialect that he almost knew. "I'm going to send you to the Guardian's house. There is danger coming."

"Solar, how did you find me in this form?"

"I would know you if there were a million carbon copies of you in a crowd before me when I was blind and dying. I am sworn to protect you, prince, and that I will always do."

"Please, tell me where to find a girl named Atia. She's close to me but I cannot find her. I don't want to leave without her. I don't know how I know her, but I do, and I would never forgive myself if anything were to happen to her." Darien could hear the wind picking up and distant sirens wailing.

"Don't worry about the girl, prince. No harm shall befall her."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me, m'lord." She smiled. He blinked

*

That fast, Darien found himself at Trista's house. The Inner and Outer Senshi were already there. "Where is she?" he asked, staring at Trista with a puzzled expression. "Why didn't she come too?"

"She's no fool. She knows that by coming here she would reveal her identity. The same goes with Destruction - they're both safe." Trista grinned. "Believe me, she knows what she's doing."

"Where's Diana?" Rini asked suddenly. "If there's a tornado coming, she and Luna and Artemis could be in danger too!"

As if in answer, the three guardian cats appeared in a flash of light and mist. Luna and Artemis were lying down, looking unconscious or worse. Diana was trembling and licking her bloodied paws. That fast, her injuries were gone, and Luna and Artemis sat up, looking vaguely disoriented.

"Diana!" Rini ran over to her. "What happened??"

"We were trapped in the arcade. The tornado came, and just as it started throwing stuff, another sailor scout appeared...and now we're here." Diana was evidently confused and leaned against her mistress when Rini picked her up.

"You knew, didn't you?" Luna hissed, looking directly at Trista. "You knew she was back!"

"Luna, she just saved your life! Can't you even forgive her for something she didn't even do?!" Trista was immediately defensive, glaring at the cat with a look of disbelief.

"Sailor Solar is a threat to us all! As long as she's here, so are _they_!" Artemis shouted. "Where are they, Trista? Where are they hiding?"

Trista's angry expression vanished like candle being blown out, replaced by a look of raw pain. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" Luna snarled, eyes sparkling with hate.

Artemis shrugged off the question. "Tell us where they are, Trista!"

"You _don't_ know." It was a statement now, no longer a question. 

"Don't know what?!" Artemis asked in angry exasperation. 

Tears welled up in the Guardian's eyes, and a single crystal bead slid free. "Lia's dead, Artemis. She was killed. Ocean and Sky are missing. Neither Solar nor myself have heard from them in over a millennia, and it's possible they've met up with Lia." Artemis looked momentarily stunned, but Luna showed no indifference.

"So she's paid the price for her carelessness. She's lost her sister and her family. Everything but you, Trista." Luna stared at her coldly. "Every_one_ but you. And neither of you should've survived that Battle. You ran, didn't you?"

"No." The admittance of Lia's death had made her quiet.

"Lia's dead." Artemis stared at her stupidly. "Solar let her die."

"No! Lia died to protect Princess Serenity on their journey to earth!" Trista's eyes widened.

"As long as Solar is alive, that means Lia isn't out of our way quite yet."

"Lia can be brought back?" Trista read between the lines, and her face almost lit up with hope.

"Trista, listen to me! You know the planet of Saturn is usually a place of evil. Lia is the queen, and there's an equal amount of evil as there is good in her. If she was good in her former life, she'd be evil if she were ever to be brought back." Artemis stared at her with an intense frown.

"Lia'd never-"

"Did you ever think _he'd_ become evil, Trista?" Luna asked in quiet fury. "Did you?"

The Guardian looked momentarily stoned. "N-no. But Lia...Lia's not like that!"

Luna shook her head. "You're never going to understand, are you? The bond you five share runs thicker than blood and deeper than love, yes, but some things you cannot help nor change. You cannot change Lia's heritage, Trista."

"We're her family!" Trista cried in a choked voice.

"_He_ was her fiancÃ©."

"Stop it!" Trista took a step back. "You don't know what you're saying!"

"Calm down, all three of you! Artemis, how would Solar be able to bring this 'Lia' back so that we can prevent her from doing so?" Darien stepped between them, and none dared to object.

"Finally - someone's talking some sense." Luna's tail flicked.

"Don't let her sing. Her voice can carry to this world and the next. It would also bring back Ocean and Sky, and we cannot risk that." At his prince's confused look, his tail twitched in slight agitation. "Ocean and Sky are Solar's cousins. If all five of them are reunited, we'll have a disaster on our hands."

"How can you keep a person from singing?" Michelle asked, hiding a snort. "It seems to me like that woman is perfectly capable of doing whatever she pleases."

"You cannot stop her from doing so, that much is true. But once she starts, by God, you can make her stop." Artemis turned his hard gaze to Trista. "Trista, now you know what will happen, and she does not. It's up to you not to let her sing." His blue eyes narrowed. "And neither can you."

Trista cried out as though she'd been slapped across the face. "How could you, Artemis?! That's the only thing that will keep her alive!"

"Exactly." Luna stared at her emotionlessly. "That's just it. Without Solar, there is no threat of the doom." Second-guessing the woman's next protest, she added, "You cannot do it yourself, Trista - you know her powers outweigh yours."

"Ocean and Sky will come. When they sense us together, they'll know we're alive, and then there will be nothing you can do!" Trista shouted angrily.

"Don't be selfish! By bringing Ocean, Sky, and Lia back to this earth, you'd destroy it! There will be a disaster so great that nothing anyone could do would save it! Do you _want_ the senshi to die? Solar's already brought _him_ by coming back, and we'll be lucky to survive his onslaught!" Artemis snapped.

Trista was silent for a moment, the tears glistening in her eyes. "Her powers are growing. She'll be able to beat him then." She swallowed. "She'd sacrifice her life to beat him, to get back at him." She stared at the cats with a pleading look. "He's going kill her."

This took the felines aback. "She'd do that?"

"Of course she would. You two don't know her at all. Before you came, before any of us were queens, she swore to protect the planets and the senshi with her life. She doesn't break her promises." Trista was upset, but she was forcing her voice to a state of calm.

"_'I would know you if there were a million carbon copies of you in a crowd before me when I was blind and dying. I am sworn to protect you, prince, and that I will always do'_," Darien murmured. He looked at the cats. "She said that to me. And I believe her."

Outside, the raging storm continued to blow. Suddenly the wind seemed to be inside the room, whispering and ruffling. After a moment, voices became clear. Words were exchanged on the wind.

A form appeared, on her knees in front of the door, bloodied and torn by a great fight. She had orange hair and dark skin tone, but that was all they could make out. She was like fog, transparent and blurry. She stretched a hand out. "Help me."

Trista groaned and closed her eyes. "Lia." She opened her eyes again, and tears ran down her cheeks. Her heart burned as though real fire dwelled there, threatening to consume her. After a moment, the sorrowful memories became real pain, and she knew that by accepting the figure, she was doing something to herself. 

"The voices. That's what Solar meant," Amara said with a jolt. "Don't listen to the voices, Trista!" She grabbed the woman's arm, jerked it to make sure she had heard.

"Send her away before she takes on a stronger form!" Luna commanded as the form grew darker and more human-like.

"Mmm..." Trista looked away. "Lia...I'm sorry...? Her voice trailed off. "Be gone!" she said as firmly as she could, a voice cold and totally unlike her own. The fog vanished. But that didn't keep the voices, the images, the memories out of her head.

Her red eyes went opaque, and she jumped back with her hands over her ears and her eyes shut. She screamed and began to shake.

"Puu!" Rini cried, knowing better than to walk up to her. Trista screamed again and staggered against the wall. The little girl closed her eyes tightly and held Diana close. "Solar, help her, please!"

A soft breeze flitted around the princess, and for a moment she could make out a familiar form - 'Ia.' The figure smiled, then vanished, only to reappear beside Trista. She wrapped her arms around the Guardian and began to sing softly.

"No!" Luna shouted, racing up to her. 

But she was too late. Trista slumped into her arms, fainted. Solar lay her gently down, glanced at Luna darkly, and disappeared.


	9. All's Well That Ends Well?

ï»¿ Trista opened her eyes slowly. Her head was pounding and she felt nearly sick with remorse. Serena was sitting beside her, humming, and she realized that she was on her bed. In her room. She didn't remember getting there - only remembered her three missing companions. 

"You're awake," Serena smiled. "Are you okay?"

"I've got an unbearable migraine, but it'll go away." Trista looked up at her. "How'd I get here?"

"Solar came, and she made you pass out. Darien carried you in here after that."

"Solar came?" Trista echoed. "With Luna and Artemis here?"

"I guess so," Serena said with a light shrug. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I don't know." Trista shuddered. "It just isn't fair! All I want is to be with them again." Tears welled up in her eyes again.

"Why do the cats hate Solar?" Serena asked gently. "What did she do to make them so angry?"

"She saved your life." Trista stared at the wall. "Back in the Silver Millennium, when you were around fifteen in earth years, you went into the room where the Silver Crystal was kept. Apparently Solar was walking past and saw you about to pick up the Crystal. She rushed in -despite the fact that only Moon royalty could enter it- and grabbed your arm, then the Crystal. She was putting it back when Luna and Artemis happened to go by and see her. They wouldn't believe hers or your tale because they didn't trust her. They had just arrived from Mau, after all, and only knew that Saturn could be an evil planet. They thought she was trying to use the Crystal to kill you."

"Like Rini in the future," Serena whispered, nearly horrified.

"Exactly. Only, no one was there to stop her." 

"So what they're saying is blasphemy?" Serena was shocked that her guardian would think such a thing.

"M-hm. Solar loved you and would never kill you. The queens and council knew that and brushed the matter away, but Luna and Artemis would not -could not- get over it. They don't like Ocean, Sky, or Lia because they're her family. And they don't like me because I'm her best friend."

"So, then, basically, they never gave her a chance?"

"You are so right, princess."

*

The two cats had heard the story before, but never in the manner of the tone Trista was using. It made Luna feel almost uncertain, and Artemis suddenly wanted to throw himself down and beg to be forgiven. In unspoken agreement, they moved away from the door.

*

Since none of the senshi or their schools were directly affected by the tornado, things proceeded normally in their lives for the next few days. School was postponed for nearly two weeks. No monsters appeared during the time, and they were left to anxiety.

*

Darien walked into the college uncertainly. Things appeared to be fine, but he could feel the tension in the atmosphere. The students were still shaken. But there was one person in particular he just _had_ to find...

He put his backpack and things in his locker, then walked into his homeroom. There, where her heels on the desk and a nail file in her left hand, sat Atia. He was so relieved to see her he nearly collapsed. "You seem to have weathered the storm well."

"Darien!" The nail file went flying, and Atia jumped to her feet and rushed over to him. "I was so worried about you and the others!"

"We're all fine," he replied with a smile. "How's your cousin?"

"Autumn? She's fine. She stayed with me." The girl smiled, and the boy noticed her eyes looked hazy, as though she were tired. Or in pain. Of the two, he couldn't decide. "That was some freak storm, huh?"

"It was. Hey, speaking of which...where'd you get off to? I couldn't find you anywhere," Darien chastised her lightly, reaching out and grabbing her arm as she wobbled on her feet.

"You know, I don't know. I just...sorta...blacked out. I don't remember anything - just being at home with Autumn. And wondering where you'd gone." Atia had the look of one who didn't understand what had happened but accepted what had happened.

"Are you okay? You're going pale," Darien frowned.

"Just...cold. Isn't it cold to you? The main furnace must've been hit by the tornado." Atia grinned meekly. "Just cold."

"Here." Darien put his coat on her, and she truly did look a sight. Unheeding the difference, she hugged the warm coat around her, giving him a look of gratitude as the bell rang. As the time passed while they were supposed to be reading, Darien noticed the newcomer just staring blankly at the page of the book, as though she weren't really seeing anything. He waved a hand in front of her face, but she didn't respond. He elbowed her, but she didn't notice. Frowning now, he put an arm around her.

Atia started, looking absolutely petrified. She looked around almost frantically, then stared at Darien quizzically, as thought she didn't remember getting to the school. Her lips looked blue, and she was trembling. But the longer his arm was around her, the more color returned to her, the less she stirred. The bell finally rang.

"Atia, what's wrong?" he asked immediately.

Atia blinked, like she didn't understand the question. "I don't know. Everything just went...black." He stood and stared up at her quietly. She glanced up at him, put a hand on his arm. "Don't leave me, please."

*

Serena looked out the window frequently but saw no butterflies, nor did Autumn seem in an especially good mood. She wasn't paying attention and got firmly reprimanded many times. When the bell for lunch rang, Serena hurried to catch up with her. "Autumn? Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just...thinking." Autumn spared her a smile, but Serena saw trouble in her eyes.

"Is it your cousin? She okay?"

By the girl's staggered look and slight stumble, she knew she had hit home. "Yes, it is and no, she's not. She just tends to blackout a lot, and she's not well at all."

"Well, if she's going to the same college as Darien, he'll watch out for her. And you could talk to my friend Amy...she's studying to be a doctor. Oh, that's right! You never met my friends! Sit with us at lunch and I'll introduce you!" With that, Serena sat out to look for Mina, Lita, and Amy. "My friend Raye goes to another school but I'm sure she'd like to meet you too. And you already know Darien and my...sister...Rini. Hey, what are you doing after school?"

Autumn couldn't help from smiling at the peppy girl's chattering. "Nothing that I know of."

"Well, you could come to study buddies with me. The girls'll be there, and Darien is too. We just do our homework, and the others try and help me but it never does much good." Serena giggled at her own fault as they waited in line.

When they got their trays, Serena led Autumn to a table in the cafeteria that consisted of three girls - another long-haired blonde with her hair back in a red bow, a brunette with green eyes, and a figure with short blue hair and blue eyes.

"Hey, guys! This is Autumn. She's new and going to sit with us today," Serena announced as she sat, closely followed by Autumn.

"Hi!" the other blonde chirped. "I'm Mina."

"I'm Lita."

"I'm Amy. Nice to meet you," Amy smiled.

"Hi," Autumn grinned, feeling almost shy. She was soon caught up the maelstrom of chatter between the four girls, and they all got along amiably. When Serena brought up the fact that Autumn was coming to study buddies, none seemed to mind. And that, in turn, brought on a long daydream fact that Darien was to be there as well.

The bell rang, and the five girls went back to their classes. Autumn smiled when she had a moment to herself; she'd found all the Inner Senshi already. And yet, from what _she'd_ said, she wasn't quite certain she wanted to the meet the Outer Senshi.

*

Darien slung his backpack over his shoulder and waited quietly for Atia at the doors. All day she had seemed in a daze, and he had to watch out for her constantly. Her reflexes had seemed thicker than mud, and she had almost ran into too many doors, walls, and other students than he cared to count. But, as he watched her flounce down the hall, joking with a few other girls and laughing, it was impossible to tell so. 

"Ready to go?" he asked as she paused beside him.

"Uh-huh." She shifted her backpack to her other shoulder, sparkling eyes staring into his. "You know, I feel a lot better now. It's almost like being around you makes me well." Her gaze turned up towards the heavens. "But that's a little silly, isn't it?"

"It's impossible to say," he replied with a smile, gently touching her elbow. "Come on, we're going to be late." She followed him obediently, seeming perfectly content to obey his commands. For some reason, with her behind him, he felt safe, although there was nothing to be afraid of.

Darien unlocked his car and climbed in, Atia on the passenger's side. She looked around admirably, smiled at a key chain picture of him and Serena. "She's a sweet girl." Watching her watch the picture, he could've seen he saw a ripple of pride flash across her face.

"That she is." As they drove down the highway, Darien glanced at her. Atia was leaning out the window a little, ponytail gliding behind her. With the sun shining down on her, she almost seemed to glow. Her hand nonchalantly loosened the tie around her neck, letting the article flap in the wind as well. _She's so beautiful._ Darien immediately blushed at the thought; Serena was his girlfriend. Was it wrong for him to think so of Atia? But he didn't love her like he loved Serena; he loved her more like a sister or a best friend, even though he'd known her for a remarkably short amount of time.

Or had he? 


	10. First Impression, Lasting Impression?

﻿ Since it was spring, the senshi were outside studying. Autumn looked up from helping Mina on a math problem and cocked her head to one side. No sooner had she done so than a familiar figure came running up the temple steps. The girl that stood there paused and looked back behind her, then smiled. "Atia?!" 

"Autumn!" Atia jerked back in surprise, nearly stumbling back down the steps. "This is the last place I'd expect you to be," she taunted with a smile.

"Always the joker." The brunette rolled her eyes as Atia walked up to her. "And how did you get here?"

"Darien brought me." Atia winked at Serena. "You have a slow boyfriend, hon."

Just then, Darien came huffing and puffing up the steps and sent an astonished look at Atia. "I've...never...seen a person...run...so...fast!" he panted, leaning over and bracing himself to catch his breath. 

Atia blushed a little and smiled. "I didn't run that fast."

"You're...not...even...winded!" Darien gasped. "It took you, what...fifteen seconds...to get up here?"

Atia shrugged meekly and smiled innocently. "I don't know?"

"Do it again." Darien straightened up and walked over to her.

"It was just odd luck," Serena pouted.

"I've never even seen Amara run that fast!" Darien protested, walking over to and kneeling beside his girlfriend. He kissed her on the forehead, and Serena hugged him. "You're good, Atia. You should try out for track."

Just then Rini burst out of the temple. "Atia!" she yelped, then raced towards the girl.

"Rini?" Atia looked behind her shoulder in surprise, then turned full around and caught the child in her arms. 

Rini giggled. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Or for two weeks," Atia teased, smiling.

Raye had noticed something off about Autumn, and now that same nagging feeling was worming its way back into her head about Atia. She knew this girl from somewhere. She also knew there was something more than met the eye about her.

"Alright, let's get to work," Darien chided, clapping his hands. Atia set Rini down with a fake pout, then sat on the free side of Darien. Serena immediately grabbed his arm, but Atia paid the boy no heed as she pulled a math book of her abandoned backpack.

Amy tapped a pencil on her paper unhappily. "This new math is getting tricky."

Atia leaned over and stared at her paper. "Algebra 2? And you're a freshman?"

"Amy's the brains of the group," Lita smiled. "She's pretty advanced."

"Ah." Atia stared at it. "What is this crap?" she muttered, poking at the examples as though it were poison. "No wonder you're confused. All you really have to do is substitute x for y and make z a negative number, then make it into a two-step equation and solve."

"That's it??" Amy asked in surprise.

"That's it," Atia smiled, sitting back. "Teachers really go out of their way to explain things when it's really that simple."

"How old are you?" Amy asked, blinking in surprise. It all made sense now!

"Seventeen." Atia started writing on her paper, glancing at her textbook. "I've skipped three grades." Stunned silence greeted her answer. Autumn began to snort but turned it into a cough. Atia glanced up at her with fake accusing. "What's so funny?"

"Ne. Nothing."

Three hours' time passed in that manner, and Serena even understood what Atia told her. Surprisingly enough, everyone of them got their homework done an hour and a half before their usual time. The Inner Senshi were quick to invite the two cousins back for another session. As they made ready to leave, two familiar figures appeared on the steps.

"Amara, Michelle! Hi!" Serena jumped up and ran over to them. "It's been awhile!"

Atia, in the middle of standing up, locked eyes with Amara and froze like a deer staring at an oncoming car's headlights. Amara had a similar expression. The tall blonde tore her gaze away and made as though to step in front of Serena. "Who are you?"

Atia stood up completely. "My name is Atia Tamuchi. This is my cousin, Autumn. And you are...?"

"Amara Tenou. This is Michelle Kaiou; she's my cousin." Amara stared at her coldly. "I know you."

"I'm quite certain we've never met," Atia replied coolly, recovering from her initial shock. "Autumn and I just moved here."

"Hm." Amara sized her up with a frown. "How do you know them?"

"I go to college with Darien. I also help teach Rini's dance class."

"Amara-" Serena began in surprise, but Amara didn't listen. Michelle grabbed her elbow and jerked her back beside her. "Michelle?"

Atia blinked as though their actions didn't surprise her. Autumn stood up and glanced at her cousin uncertainly. "Maybe we have met." Amara tried to stare her in eyes but faltered. "But I can't place you or Michelle." She said Michelle in a funny way, as though it were difficult to pronounce.

"Where are you from?" Amara demanded, growing angry.

"Somewhere far from here. Gastahdylia." Autumn glanced at her sharply, but Atia ignored her and picked up her backpack.

"Amara, leave her alone!" Serena pleaded, trying to get past Michelle.

"You two aren't being very polite," Rini agreed, standing near Autumn, who put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not like they're going to kill us."

Amara's eyes hardened. "Come away from her."

"No!" Rini grabbed Autumn's wrist and refused to budge. "She's my friend, Amara!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Amara snarled.

Atia made a sound almost like a growl and shook her bangs out of her eyes. "Autumn, let's go." The brunette walked up to her, staring at the other two uncertainly. They were blocking the way out. Atia walked up to them, but Amara stood bodily in front of her.

"You're not going anywhere." Amara's fist flew up to strike the slightly taller girl.

That fast, Atia dropped her backpack and caught her wrist, gripping it so hard that Amara gasped. Quickly regaining her wits, she tried the other wrist, but Atia caught it too. The purple-haired girl suddenly brought her ankle forcefully against the backs of Amara's legs, and the blonde fell to her knees before her.

Amara stared up at her in surprise that quickly melted away. She shoved her body against Atia's legs brutally. The other girl released Amara's hands and jumped back. Autumn made no move to run but backed away, back towards the senshi.

"Amara, stop it!" Darien yelled, acting to get up.

Amara stood up and lunged at Atia in response. Atia side-stepped the onslaught easily enough and twisted away as she whirled and came at her again.

"Stop it, Amara. Don't fight me," Atia said in a low voice that only the other could hear. "I'm not the enemy."

"I hate you!" Amara shrieked suddenly and in that instant tackled her down. Atia cried out in alarm, and the earth shook unnaturally as she crashed into the ground. "I don't know why, but I hate you!"

"Then I'm quite afraid I'll have to hate you as well, Amara." She kicked the other girl over her head and scrambled to her feet. "Although it is really quite a shame." She started singing quietly, so softly the words weren't identifiable.

Amara sat where she'd been thrown. "Stop that!" she shouted, covering her ears. "Stop!"

Michelle cried out and left Serena, coming up behind Atia. Atia brought her arm around and crashed it into Michelle's collarbone, and the girl tumbled to the ground. Michelle shrieked as she heard Atia singing.

The girl stopped singing.

Amara stared at her hatefully. "I don't know what type of game you're trying to play, but I'm going to tell you now that you won't win. I don't want you around any of them. I want you gone. You and your cousin both."

"You don't always get what you want." Atia stared at Amara distantly. "We're not guaranteed tomorrow, Amara."

Amara froze. "What?"

"We're not guaranteed tomorrow."

Amara shook her head, then glared up at Atia accusingly. "Why do I know that you've said that to me before?!"

Atia shrugged. It didn't seem to bother her that Amara wasn't even a foot away from her and could've easily tackled her. "You're bleeding."

"Wha?"

Atia gestured at her knees. "You're bleeding," she said again. Amara glanced down and saw her pants knees were ripped. Her knees were bleeding and sore from being brought down on the stone steps.

"I've been worse," Amara growled, glaring back up at her. Her opponent's face held no smug, taunting, or angry tones, only concerned uncertainty. "Why are you different?" Atia cocked her head to one side, questioning her. Yet, Amara understood the foreign gesture. "Why don't you beat us up? You seem perfectly capable of doing so. Even though I struck first, you're looking at me as though I'm a friend of yours that got hurt." Her initial anger began to fade, as though she hadn't really meant what she'd said before.

Atia smiled and straightened up. "I don't know. It's not my nature to be violent."

"You could've fooled me."

Atia laughed and extended a hand down towards Amara. "Come on, you're not going to be able to get up if you stay in that position. Your knees are going to lock up."

The blonde's eyes widened in surprise. Before she could stop herself, she reached up and grabbed Atia's hand. The moment her hand gripped the other's, the area around her went black. She felt like she was falling, falling into an endless chasm. Someone jerked her hand, and the falling stopped. She heard the clamor and thundering of a Battle, a huge, tremendous fight where each warrior fought to the death with no exceptions. She hauled herself up on the cliff and stared at what should've been a figure she knew. But the figure was a mist with no identifiable shape that quickly escaped back into the fight. She found herself crashing into someone and was abruptly brought back to her senses.

*

Amara put her hand in Atia's, and Atia pulled her up. The girl staggered against her as though she had no control over her movements and didn't know what she was doing. Atia wrapped her arms around her to keep her from falling back down.

The girl in her arms gasped and looked up at her in surprise. And yet, the anger, the hate, she'd felt only moments before was gone. She suddenly knew Atia, remembered her from somewhere long ago as vaguely as a shadow.

Seeing her back to normal, Atia let her go. "Are you okay?" she asked, not unkindly.

"Y-yeah." Amara stared at her in confusion. Her knees stung and ached, and she wondered why she hadn't noticed the throbbing pain before.

Atia smiled, then offered her hand to Michelle. "It's getting late." Before she knew what she was doing, Michelle grabbed her hand. Immediately the world went black. Her body was on fire, like someone was stabbing her. There was a jerk, and the pain stopped. The noise around her was deafening, roars and crashes, screams and shouts. She couldn't see anything but a figure that she thought she knew. But the person was a fog and perfectly impossible to make out. Feeling about to fall, she steadied herself. The jerk brought her back to Earth.

*

Michelle shook her head and found herself staring into Atia's eyes. "I-I'm fine," she said to the unspoken question. Why had she ever fought this girl? She knew her from somewhere. She wasn't an enemy. And yet...

"Michelle." The teal-haired girl turned to look at Amara. "Let's go." Michelle silently followed her back down the steps of the temple, too stunned to speak.

*

Atia watched them go and sighed. Her elbow ached where it had struck the ground, and her head was pounding from the anxiety. The world spun before her eyes, and she closed them to remain standing. Seconds ticked past, and a relieving flood of cool washed over her. Her head stopped its angry pounding, and her elbow felt no differently than before. She opened her eyes and walked over to the senshi.

"Atia, I am so sorry! She usually doesn't act like that," Serena exclaimed, looking close to tears.

"It's alright, Serena, really. I'm used to fighting." Atia put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Autumn asked softly. "You hit the ground hard."

"I'm fine." Atia grinned reassuringly at her.

"Hm-nm. Don't lie to me," Autumn scolded gently, walking up to her. She was a good deal shorter, but that didn't stop her from reaching up and touching Atia's cheek. Her copper hand shone like a beacon against Atia's pale face. "Sit."

"Autumn, I feel fine!" Atia protested.

The brunette jerked her wrist in response. "You're not going to in a moment! Listen to me!" Atia's knees buckled obediently, and she sat without further complaint.

"Autumn, she said she's okay," Rini said uncertainly, the only one daring enough to.

"What she says isn't always how it is."

Atia sighed and put an elbow on the bench, drummed her fingers against it impatiently. She glared at the ground as though it were its fault that she was sitting. After a moment, her fingers stilled, and she laid her head on her arm. She ran her fingers slowly through her ponytail with her free hand. Eventually, that too stopped, and she curled her long legs closer against herself. Still saying nothing, she half-closed her eyes. Any of those movements could've been passed off as boredom, but Autumn was no fool.

One of Atia's hands rubbed her head as though it hurt, then pressed as the imaginary pain worsened. She made a face and a half-choking sound, then closed her eyes completely and did not move.

Autumn shook her head. "You're not always so lucky."


	11. Lilacs and Roses

﻿ He laughed as he watched her pass out. _Good; she's not as strong as I thought she was. And with Luna and Artemis against her_... He clapped his hands once, and a pretty serving maid came forward hesitantly. 

"Yes, m'lord?" she asked timidly, curtseying.

"Who do you see here, Sastiana?" he asked easily, gesturing at the crystal ball-like object before him.

"My princess!" the girl cried. "The princess of Saturn!"

"Very good."

"What have you done to her?!" the girl wailed, falling to her knees. "Please, lord, do not hurt her!"

"I have done nothing to her, not yet. And I won't hurt her; I'll put her out of her misery so quickly it'll make her head swim." The girl burst out sobbing. "No use crying over spilled milk, Sastiana." He waved a hand loftily. The girl fled the room.

The man clutched a hard object in his hand, then brought it up to the light to stare at it. As long as he held it, he held his opponent's greatest weakness. Or so he hoped. He would check it, but he hadn't the nerve. For all of his strength, his cunning, and his power, he feared the power of this gem. He feared the wrath of the one it held and who once owned it. And, being the one to kill her, he had every reason to fear her. 

He stared at the pendant uncertainly. He could almost feel it glowing with hate and was beginning to doubt the fact that, once released, he could contain her power. His dark hazel eyes narrowed at the thought. He had to; he just had to!

And he had to do it soon, while the princess was still weak... 

*

"Atia!" Rini was at her side instantly. "Atia, wake up!"

Autumn sighed and rubbed her temples. "It'll do no good, Rini. She won't wake for a while. She's unconscious."

"She didn't even do much," Mina objected awkwardly.

"It had nothing to do with the fight. She just does this when she's overly stressed or bummed out."

"She seemed out of it all day," Darien said in concern, walking over to the girl and kneeling beside her. "She just said-"

"She was cold," he and Autumn chorused, the girl a bit sarcastic.

"Aye, God," Autumn muttered. "I knew she should've stayed home."

"Autumn, if you'll come with me, I'll take her home for you," Darien offered.

"Would you?" Autumn looked relieved. Darien gently sat Atia up and was about to pick her up completely when she opened her eyes. Autumn's eyes widened, and she knelt down in front of her. "Atia?"

"Autumn?" She sounded strangely tired.

"Atia, do you know where we are?" Autumn asked calmly.

"Raye's temple. And...you made me sit down." She was so quiet that Autumn could barely hear her. "My head hurts." Her eyes were half-closed and glazed. Suddenly she looked up, over Autumn's head, and tried to stand up.

"No, no! Sit down," Autumn began, grabbing for her wrists but missing.

Darien stood up and balanced her. Atia sidestepped Autumn impatiently, stumbling like a two year-old just learning to walk. Darien grabbed her elbow. "Atia, maybe..."

"No." She pulled out of his grasp and walked to the steps, then stared down them intently but made no move to go down them - much to the senshi's relief.

"She's not fully awake. She's still out of it. God, if she tries to go down the steps..." Autumn stood up and made as to walk to her cousin, then appeared to reconsider and stopped.

Suddenly a figure came face-to-face with Atia. The stranger and girl simply stared at each for a moment, then embraced. Atia was leaning on her heavily, but the weight seemed not to have an effect on the stranger. The purple-haired girl's eyes closed, and the other held her tight. The senshi could see Atia's mouth moving but could not hear what she said until her voice began to rise in panic. Trista quieted her and murmured something. Atia visibly relaxed.

"Who's that?" Autumn asked instantly, amber eyes furrowed.

"Her name is Trista Meiou. But how does she know Atia?" Many weird things had happened that day, and Darien guessed that this was another.

Rini shot Autumn a sidelong glance. The brunette glanced down at her and winked, a smile hovering at the corners of her lips. The pigtailed one smiled and looked back at Atia and Trista.

Atia straightened up as though she had not been affected by her fainting spell, then smiled. "I thought I'd never see you again after graduation!" she exclaimed, smiling.

"Wha?!" Serena squeaked. "How'd she do that?! A moment ago she was unconscious! Now..."

"She's completely normal," Raye finished in a low voice.

"I know! Ironic, isn't it?" Trista agreed with a giggle. "Now it can be just like the old days, huh?"

"You bet!" Atia beamed. "Say, what are you doing here, anyway?"

"I came to pick up Rini for dance lessons. Hey, you want to come?" Trista asked as they walked up to the senshi.

Atia laughed. They'd never heard her laugh. Earlier, only the two cousins had. It was a pretty sound. "I almost have to. I'm helping teach her class. Oh, Autumn! This is Trista. She's my best friend from high school. Trista, this is my cousin, Autumn."

"Hi," Autumn smiled, shaking her hand.

"Yo, hold up!" Lita exclaimed, staring at an evidently confused Serena. "Now, how do you two know each other again?"

"We were best friends in high school." Atia grinned apologetically.

"After we graduated, Atia moved, and we lost contact. I came to Tokyo because of better schooling. And here we are." Trista made a helpless face and shrugged.

"That's weird," Serena said flatly. Her blue eyes stared at them, and then she reeled back. "Aie! I've seen you two together somewhere before and it's completely freaking me out!"

"Impossible, Serena," Amy said, shaking her head. And yet...

"Sorry to come and go, but we need to get going," Trista said to the senshi, leaning down and picking up Rini as the girl ran up to her. "We're going to be late, Atia. Bye, guys." Echoes of 'bye' went back to her as she, Rini, Atia, and Autumn left.

*

"What's wrong with you?" Trista asked the instant they were out of earshot of the senshi. 

Atia flinched as though she'd been physically hit. "Amara and Michelle..."

Trista froze and turned to face her. "You've found them?"

Atia touched her elbow unconsciously. "More like they found me. They don't trust me anymore, Trista. Amara would've killed me if I'd let her."

The Guardian shook her head and continued down the steps, a stunned Rini still in her arms. "What did she say?"

"She said she hated me."

"No way."

"Way."

"Why?"

"I guess they're going to blame me for what happened."

"It's not your fault."

They reached the bottom of the steps in silence, and Trista set Rini down. The girl stood beside Autumn, staring up at her uncertainly. Autumn glanced down at her with much of the same look. Atia looked like she was holding something back. "But it _is_ my fault."

Trista put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Atia, come on. You didn't know."

"Even if I had known, do you think it would've made any difference?" Atia was struggling not to cry and not to go into a rage that would surely blind her. "Everyone's dead because of me!"

"Atia, everyone dies at some point or another," Trista said calmly. Atia looked at the ground. "Listen, you did the best you could. The prince and princess are still alive. You kept your promise. Now let's go or we're really going to be late."

Silently they all filed into the car. "Luna and Artemis know you're back," Rini said quietly. "Atia, you have to stay away from them."

"Rini's right." Trista kept her eyes on the road. "They're ready to jump your throat the moment you show any sign of weakness." Atia looked ready to punch something but said nothing. "They're determined to stop our gift."

Atia stared at her in open-mouthed astonishment. "No! That's one thing they cannot do! I won't stop singing! Nothing they say or do can stop me!"

"They're worried about the others returning," Rini objected.

The tall girl closed her eyes. "I've...blocked the signals."

"What?" Trista glanced at her in despair.

"I've blocked the signals we send out when we sing. They can't hear us...and we can't hear them."

*

Rini watched Atia intently, then copied the move herself. It was odd; when Atia taught her, she understood and could perform the dance perfectly. "Good, Rini," she heard her say, then looked up to see her execute a perfect standing back-handspring back tuck. "Very good."

"Wow! How'd you do that?!" Rini squeaked.

"What? This?" Atia did it again, this time landing on one leg and doing a partial back walk-over, stopping when she was in a handstand and staring at the girl up-side down.

"Yes! That! Woah!"

Atia laughed and did a summersault, standing. "It's taken some practice. Do you want to learn to do it?"

"Can I?" Atia nodded. "Yeah!"

"We'll start in a moment. Hey, Trista!" Atia called, walking over to her friend. "Would you mind staying after for awhile? I'm going to start Rini on gymnastics."

"I don't care." Trista smiled. "You like training her." Statement, not a question.

"Mm." Atia grinned. "It's like training them all over again."

"Teach her like you taught them and she'll be a hit."

Atia laughed and grabbed Trista's hand. "Come join me. You know you want too." Trista flushed ever so slightly. "Ah, come on. They can't hear us. Luna and Artemis aren't here. It'll be fine and fun." Trista stood up reluctantly and walked with her back into the class.

"Puu!" Rini ran up to them. "Are you going to dance too?" Trista smiled. "Cool!"

"I am going to warm up so I don't sprain anything," Trista said in a tone that hinted sarcasm at a sighing Atia. She elbowed her taller companion as she walked past her. "Some of us aren't so flexible."

Atia snorted. "Yeah, whatever you say. Okay!" She clapped her hands, and the students walked over to her. "Since Mrs. Cayoni couldn't make it today, my friend Trista is going to help me. And since Mrs. Cayoni isn't here, today is free day. You can work on the dance, work on the songs, or just play around. Mind you, remember the rules." The class cheered, then wandered off to do various things.

Rini looked over at Trista in time to catch her do the same thing Atia had done, standing on her hands without a wobble to find. The young girl's mouth popped open. Her guardian then jumped in a full 360? turn - on her hands.

"Good, isn't she?" Atia smiled at her young charge's reaction.

"Uhhh....huh..." Rini replied dumbly.

"Warmed up enough?" Atia called jokingly.

"Ha, ha!" Trista snorted, still upside-down. She landed herself in a back-bend, then stood up from it. Her face wasn't even red. "I haven't done _that_ for awhile."

"I didn't know you could do that!" Rini finally found her voice.

"She can do more than that," Atia smirked.

"So can you." Trista flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Well, now what?"

"The squirt wants to learn to do that." Rini squeaked and poked Atia in the leg. Atia giggled. "I meant that in a good way," she added hastily.

"Yeeah," Rini said, rolling her eyes with a smile. "So, teach me!"

"Can you do a backbend?" Atia asked, eyes sparkling with amusement. Rini preformed one and stayed in that position. "Back walk-over?" Rini did that too. "Splits?" She was almost all the way down in her good-leg splits. "Straddle?" Here, she was all the way down. "Heh. Can you do a back handspring?" Here Rini stopped. "We'll start from there."

*

After the rest of the class left, Rini sat down on the floor, tired. "I want to hear you two sing."

"Wha?" Trista stared at the princess in surprise.

"I want to hear you two sing," Rini repeated. "Please?"

"I don't see why not," Atia said with a shrug. She looked at Trista. "What'll it be?" Trista shrugged. "How about _Shadows of the Night_?"

"Sure."

The CD player suddenly kicked on. Rini started; she knew every track on the CD currently in the player - and this song was not on it, just like nobody had hit the play button on the boom box. But she decided not to ask questions. 

The intro ticked past. The duo looked perfectly calm, as though they'd done such a thing hundreds of times before. The moment they started singing, Rini was entranced. The harmonies were stunning, and the sound made her head swirl. She felt like she was flying. It was so beautiful. When the song ended, she could only stare in astonishment as Trista turned and stared Atia full in the face. "We can still do it, can't we?" She looked pleased and slightly remorseful.

"You bet. There's no way Luna and Artemis could've heard us, is there?" Atia frowned.

"No." Trista noticed Rini's astounded expression and smiled. "Like it?"

"How do you two do that?" Rini whispered. "That's amazing! The best I've ever heard! Puu, why didn't you tell us you could sing??"

Atia looked like she was going to laugh. "Our little secret."

Trista smiled widely. "You never asked."

Rini could only smile.

*

The next day, Serena found herself at the city barn, watching Atia ride a huge black horse around the arena. Atia didn't know she was there - not yet. They had long since been done with study buddies, and Serena had forgotten to ask the girl if she was coming to the upcoming dance.

Atia started jumping the black horse. Suddenly the beast slammed his forefeet into the ground and stopped at a dead run, refusing to jump a brick wall. Atia shrieked as she was thrown over the horse's head and right into the wall. It crumbled when she hit it, and the girl rolled a few feet before stopping. "Oh. Ow." The horse ran to the other side of the arena, and Atia staggered to her feet, removing her helmet and tucking it under her arm. She dusted herself off, looking non the worse for wear. She walked over to the stallion, who backed away from her as though expecting to be struck.

"Ow," Atia whispered, rubbing her shoulder. "Sleet, easy boy," she murmured, setting her helmet on the ground and taking a step closer. The horse made a roaring noise and reared, fore hooves nearly coming down at Atia's head. "Easy, Sleet! It's all right, come here, I won't hurt you," she crooned, grabbing his reins as he landed before her. "There's a love." She stroked his head gently, and he stood shaking. "It's okay." He lowered his head against her chest and snorted. She laughed. "Come on. Let's see that scary brick wall, hm?"

She picked up her helmet and led the horse back to the brick wall. He sniffed at it, snorted when it proved uninteresting, and then butted Atia in the thigh. She staggered under his force and scolded him with a tsk. "You're too big to play with me now. You're not a baby anymore. Come on, let's be done. I'm hungry."

Serena's mouth was still open. How had Atia managed to walk after being thrown into a brick wall? Why hadn't the horse's hooves hit her? Wasn't she afraid of the giant horse? She made her way to the entrance of the barn and walked in, right in time to see a boy begin shouting at Atia.

"I've told once, and I'll tell you again! That stallion is dangerous, Atia! He threw you for the thousandth time this week alone!"

At the boy's tone, the stallion snorted and backed, then balked and tried to get out of Atia's grasp when the boy took a step forward. "Get back, Roddie! You're scaring him!" Atia held onto the reins and talked baby-talk to the horse, whose nostrils flared and eyes rolled with fright.

"He's not trust-worthy. How many times do I have to tell you that, Atia?" Roddie said in a low tone.

Atia reached up and hooked a clasp onto her horse's bridle that was attached to the wall. Then she turned around and slapped him clear across the face. He went stumbling backwards. "I've had it with you! You make me sick! Your father is dying and all you can do is come out here and bitch at me and my horse! Don't you have any respect? Dignity?!"

Roddie stared at her in surprise. "I...I..." Blushing, he whirled around and stalked out of the barn.

Serena walked in as he stormed past her. "Serena!" Atia nearly went as red as Roddie. "I didn't see you there."

The girl smiled. "It's nothing. Are you okay?? I saw you get thrown into that brick wall out there."

"Oh, I'm fine. It's a special type of wall that collapses when something runs into it - prevents the horses from getting hurt. Hit my shoulder on the ground, though," Atia smiled.

"Your horse is beautiful," Serena said, walking up to her and stopping at a distance. "He's huge!"

Atia laughed. "Thanks. You can pet him if you want; he just doesn't like men. Or brick walls, apparently." She walked to one side of him, humming, and undid his saddle. The horse whickered and extended his nose towards Serena.

"Oh; uh, hi." Serena reached forward and touched his nose. It was like velvet. When he didn't act to bite or rear, she moved closer and stroked his nose, then his face. "You're a pretty thing, aren't you? What's his name? How's old is he?" she asked as Atia hauled the saddle off of his back and out of the horse's kicking distance.

"His name is Sleetcold; he's six years old, but he still thinks he's a baby." Atia flipped his reins over his head, then buckled the headstall part of his halter around his neck. She took off the bridle, the horse spitting out the bit. Atia dropped the bridle carefully and put his halter on completely. "There."

The horse's sparkling blue eyes stared at Serena intelligently. "Oh, yeah. Atia, are you coming to the dance this Friday?"

"Uh...this is Tuesday, right?" Serena nodded. "Hm." Atia slung the bridle over her shoulder and picked up the saddle effortlessly. "I suppose I could." She disappeared into a room, putting up the tack.

Sleetcold took a step forward and nudged Serena's shoulder. She petted him again, smiling. Atia walked back out of the room and glanced at her watch. "I don't suppose you've had supper?" she asked, grinning at Sleet's obvious pleasure to Serena's attention.

"No, actually, I haven't. What time is it?" Serena asked in surprise.

"It's going on six thirty. I have yet to eat myself; wanna come with me? My treat." Atia clasped a lead rope to the stallion's halter and unhooked the chain from the wall.

"Sure!" Serena stepped to one side as Atia led the horse into his stall, rolling the door shut behind him. He began munching on some food of his own. As they walked out of the barn, Serena asked, "Do you come out here everyday?"

"I try to. Where do you like to eat?" Atia replied, leading Serena to a sky blue mustang convertible.

"Oh, gosh! Just about anywhere, really," Serena giggled, getting into the passenger's side of the vehicle. "I like your car."

"Thanks. How does Keiochi's sound?" Atia started up the car. There was an immediate, blaring response from the radio, and Atia turned it down hastily.

"I love Keiochi's!"

"So do I!"

"No way!" they chorused, then started laughing.

Serena didn't get home until eight. One thing led to another - eating, shopping, browsing, all the things girls do. She found Atia to be like the big sister she never had, just as fun as the other senshi - only with a license.

When she got home, the girl explained everything to her mom, who was fine with it. Serena went upstairs and sat down on her bed, exhausted.

*

Luna jerked awake from her catnap as she heard the door slam. Serena walked in. She thought nothing of it until she sniffed the air. A familiar scent like that of lilacs and roses lingered on the air, only noticeable by her sensitive cat nose. Her tail fluffed ever so slightly. She knew that smell.

And she did not like it at all.


	12. Dancing With the Enemy

ï»¿ Atia leaned against the punch table, smiled as she saw Trista come towards her. "Don't tell me you're tired already!" her friend shouted over the music. 

The girl laughed. "Hardly! I just didn't want to die of thirst!"

Trista was no fool and saw right through Atia's charade.

"Something's wrong, isn't there?" Trista leaned nonchalantly against the table as well, watching the throng of people dancing.

Atia said nothing for a moment, watching the inner senshi dance. They were having so much fun, even Darien. She didn't want that to end, but she was not in charge of the enemy's attacks. Her observing eyes picked out other familiar faces in the crowd; some from the college, some from her dance class. "Come with me." She grabbed Trista's arm and pulled her outside into the cool night air. She led the other sailor back behind the building. "Transform." She didn't dare to disobey the curt command.

Pluto regarded her quietly. "What is he after, Atia?"

"He's not after anything. He's just-" A bloody-murder scream raced through the walls, and it was immediately echoed as a stampede of people tried to escape the building. A sorry few escaped before the doors swung shut and bolted.

Electrified tension and anger cackled through the air in forms of heat lightening. Thunder took up the call. Pluto could feel her heart race and looked at Atia uncertainly. The other girl was biting her lip and looking at the sky as though the lightening flashes were really words in disguise. "Go, Pluto."

"Atia...?"

"I'm going to parley with him. But you have to go destroy the attacker." 

Pluto shook her head, then ran back around front. She stopped when she saw the bolted doors. "Right," she said flatly. Suddenly the doors turned transparent, and Pluto ran through them. She heard two pairs of running feet behind her, signaling Uranus's and Neptune's arrivals.

Atia, watching her dearest friend over her shoulder, didn't see the form materialize in front of her. "Parley, my dear?" The girl's eyes squeezed shut as she turned her black gaze to him. When they opened again, her eyes glistened with tears.

*

Somehow, during the chaos, the senshi had found time to transform. The enemy paralyzed all the rest of the students, leaving them alone to the battle. The senshi realized uneasily that he seemed to be after nothing in particular, only to attack them.

Suddenly Pluto raced through the doors, Uranus and Neptune in tow. The enemy looked up and smirked. "Come to join my party?" he asked sweetly.

"Actually, we were thinking about crashing it," Uranus replied sarcastically.

The boy, who looked younger than Darien, smiled. "I'm quite afraid I cannot allow you to do that. You see, I'm under strict command to make sure at least one of you doesn't leave here alive."

"And we're under strict command to not let you do that," Neptune retorted. "Neptune Deep Submerge!!"

The boy giggled and jumped out of the way. "Nice try. I think your mother could've trained you a bit better, though."

Pluto's eyes widened. Fearful anger creased her expression, and her grip tightened on her staff. 

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Neptune flared, confused.

"You know what it means!"

"No, I do not!"

"Enough!" Pluto said sharply, walking closer to the boy. "What do you remember, Irvine? Tell me now!" She abruptly seized his collar and held him tightly in front of her.

The black, up side down heart symbol on the boy's forehead suddenly disappeared. "Queen? I..." His voice trailed off, and the heart reappeared. He wriggled out of her grasp. "I only know what you know!"

"Quit talking in riddles!" Pluto slammed the Time Key against his head, sending him to the ground. 

"Pluto!" Sailor Moon ran up to her, astonished. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

"These people aren't enemies, Sailor Moon. They're generals and loyal aides from the Silver Millennium. They need to be healed and not destroyed. I never thought he'd strike this close to home," Pluto replied darkly, stepping back from the boy.

"Owww!" Irvine whined, sitting up and rubbing his head. "That hurt!"

"That _is_ the general idea," Pluto snapped. "I thought it would knock some sense into you."

"Ow," Irvine said again, standing up and brushing invisible dust off of his tunic. "Now I'm going to have to hurt you, Sailor Pluto."

"Oh, grow up!" Pluto spat, grabbing Sailor Moon and forcing the girl behind her without taking her eyes off of the boy.

"Nnnnhhhh!" Irvine stuck out his tongue, then fired a blast of dark power at Pluto. The woman ducked it, glaring. "Fine!" He clapped his hands once, and Pluto found herself unable to move - just like the other students in the building. "How's that for growing up?" He sent another blast at her, but someone knocked him aside just as the power left his hands, throwing the power off-course. "Hey!" he yelped. Pluto jerked as she realized that she could move.

Sailor Solar suddenly materialized where Irvine had stood seconds before, staring at him sadly. "I know now. Go back to sleep, Irvine." She snapped her fingers. The youth slumped to the ground in apparent slumber and suddenly vanished. She looked crestfallen and distracted.

"Solar!" Jupiter frowned. "What the hell is going on?!"

"These are not enemies you're facing. They're old friends from the past, reincarnated to bring you about to weakness."

"But we don't remem-"

"Hush! Don't say that aloud, Venus, please! Leave the remembering to me and Pluto, I beg you," Solar pleaded, looking as though she'd just seen a ghost. "If you remember the past now, it'll destroy you. You won't be able to handle it." Her fists clenched, and she stared at the ground in dismay.

"And you will?" Neptune asked coldly.

"More than you would be able to. God, he was a sweet boy," Solar muttered, staring at where Irvine had been moments before.

"Solar. What is it? What did he say?" Pluto asked in a quiet but urgent tone.

"He won't stop." A roar of thunder shook the building. "He's going to destroy us." The thunder shook again, so hard now the senshi were thrown to the ground. "Go now! You've said enough!" Solar shouted. There was a vicious snap of thunder, like a gunshot - a threat. Then it stopped.

"So, they're not after anything? No heart crystals, no nothing?" Sailor Moon asked, unnerved.

"Exactly. He's just testing us to the breaking point of our sanity. Luckily, it won't be any of you that snap," Solar said wearily. "The danger's over. It's time to go."

"What are you hiding from us, Solar?!" Uranus barked, staring at her through narrowed eyes. "Besides our memories, that is?" she added sarcastically.

"She knows who the enemy is."

The cold voice from behind Solar made her involuntarily freeze. She sent one pleading gaze at Pluto, who stared back helplessly and walked up to her.

"You know perfectly well why he's here, don't you?" a second voice said darkly.

"Please, go away. I don't need this," Solar whispered.

"And you think we do?" Luna replied evenly. "This hurts us as much as it hurts you, Solar. Serenity didn't steal our memories, either. We know."

"I didn't-"

"Didn't keep your word? Where were you when the prince was killed by Metallia? Where were you when the princess killed herself from grief?? Did you even try to save the queen?!" Artemis's voice rose with burning hatred.

"I tried-"

"But it wasn't enough, was it?" Luna hissed.

"You don't understand-"

"I understand this - because of you, the whole Silver Millennium is gone! They were all killed!" Artemis shouted.

"Leave her alone!" Pluto cried.

"Stay out of this, Pluto!" Artemis snarled. 

The other senshi could only stare, dumbfounded and shocked. They had never seen the guardian cats so angry or behave so brutally. It was a side none of them really cared to see.

Solar finally whirled around to face them, tears stinging her eyes. "Luna, Artemis, you don't understand! I lost as much in that fight as you did!"

"You got a just payment for your irresponsibility, didn't you?" Luna sneered. "The loss of your sister..."

"Luna, stop!"

"Your cousins..."

"Please!"

"Your parents...your home...your friends..." She watched with a smirk as Solar finally snapped and sank to the ground, stunned out of words. "You lost it all, Solar. And you only have yourself to blame."

Solar stared at her, shaking, willing herself not to burst out sobbing. She wished she were as emotionally strong as Ocean. Pluto put a hand on her shoulder, just as hurt as her friend. "I never denied the fact that I'm the reason the end of the Silver Millennium occurred." She swallowed and managed a stern gaze at the two cats. "I've accepted my error, my fate, and the result. I am mature enough to do so, which is more than I can apparently say for the two of you! I know I lost Lia, Ocean, and Sky, and I miss them like hell, but crying over them won't bring them back! I'm only trying to correct what I can...while I can."

That lecture was one the cats hadn't expected. They stared at her with so much hate that Solar kept shaking. "How do we know you're not making all this up? How do we know Lia is dead, Solar? How do we know you're not making a sob story?"

Solar looked like she had been slapped. "Why would I lie about that, Artemis?! Why would I lie about my sister?! You know I love her with all my heart! I would never sink that low! If Lia were alive, she'd be here, beside me, like she always was - like she should be!"

"You-"

"Both of you, stop!" Sailor Moon cried. "She's hurting enough as it is! She doesn't need any crap from you two! You both need to grow up! She's accepted it and it's her fault! Why can't you?" Her eyes glistened with shamed tears.

"Her powers."

"What about them?"

"She is a master of illusion and deceit. She's a sorceress, a priestess of high power. Her own parents feared her powers. Even Queen Serenity was shocked at their extent," Artemis growled quietly.

Solar stared at Luna and Artemis with a look disbelief that melded into pain. Still quivering, she stood. "You both know that if you weren't such of value to the princess, I'd kill you both in the blink of an eye? Your lives will be spared as long as I remain loyal to the princess and the queen. If something happens...if I'm turned...you two will be the first to go." She grabbed Pluto's wrist. There was a roar of fire. When the flames died, glitter fell to the ground.

They were both gone.

*

Rini and Autumn were dozing in front of the TV when Trista and Atia appeared. By their quiet manner they could tell something was wrong but neither said anything. Trista went into her room and almost closed the door completely. Atia walked around restlessly, almost as though she expected someone to jump out of the shadows and strangle her. It took her all of forty-five minutes to calm down to the point of walking into the bedroom after Trista.

Rini, by that time, had fallen asleep against Autumn, who was almost to the point of slumber. She could hear her aunt's and Trista's voices. One of them began to cry, and the other said something in a choked voice. Alarmed but exhausted, the brunette fell asleep without knowing the details. 


	13. Racing Against the Clock

﻿ Trista woke to the ringing phone beside her. She twisted halfway over, trying not to awake Atia, and answered it. "Hullo?" She was so tired... 

"Trista! Did I wake you up? I'm sorry," Serena giggled, embarrassed.

Trista yawned around a chuckle. "Yes, but it's okay."

"Um, I'm over at Darien's, and we were just making sure Rini's still at your place," Serena continued. Trista could hear Darien's voice telling her something. "And if we could come get her in around an hour."

"Yes and yes," Trista replied sleepily.

"Okay." She could hear Serena say something to Darien and vice-versa. "Darien wants to talk with you. See you later."

Before she could say anything, Darien came on. "Trista, are you alright? Is Solar?"

Trista sighed. Atia murmured something in her sleep and buried her face into the pillow. The Guardian ran a hand through her ponytail as she thought about an answer. "I'm not fine but not bad. Solar's utterly cracked."

Darien was silent for a moment. "Did you see Atia after the dance? We couldn't find her."

"She's here. She's one of the ones that got out before the attack. She came back to my house," Trista lied quietly.

"Good." Darien didn't sound completely convinced, but he didn't ask questions. "Trista, I want to apologize about Luna and Artemis. I can't believe..."

"Don't," the green-haired warrior interrupted. "They're right in every aspect. The truth...it just hurts so badly."

*

"Ready...run hard!" Atia crouched down and caught Rini. The girl flipped backwards, Atia's hands bracing her, just as Darien opened the door. Rini landed a perfect back handspring, arms in the air with her wrists down, as though she were competing for a judge. "Good. More spring next time, okay?"

"Woah! Rini, when did you learn how to do that?" Serena goggled as she walked in.

"Atia taught me," Rini beamed. "She's the best."

Atia laughed. "Me? No way."

"I bet you could even teach Serena!"

"Even she has her limits, I'm sure," Serena said flatly.

Atia smiled. "You're not too old, Serena."

Serena looked surprised. "Me? Gymnastics?"

"Yeah." Atia stood up. "It's not too hard."

Trista walked into the room, hearing them. "Hey guys." Atia did a standing back handspring. "Atia, you only woke up thirty minutes ago, and now you're making my house shake!"

Autumn trotted in, saw Serena and Darien, and stopped, smiling. "Hey Serena."

"Autumn! I can't believe you'd rather stay here and baby-sit this brat than come to a dance!" Serena scolded her friend.

Autumn laughed. "She's a doll, Serena. Loud music makes my head hurt, anyway."

"Doll my foot," Serena grumbled.

"Atia, weren't you going to the track try-outs?" Darien inquired, glancing at his watch. "They're starting now."

"WHAT?! I didn't think it was for another hour!" With a shriek, the girl bolted out the door with a holler of, "Sorry bye!" Within seconds she was out of eye shot.

"For some reason, I think she'll make it," Trista said with a wry smile.

*

A familiarly sharp voice made Atia look up for the sign-up sheet. She turned around just in time to see Amara take off around the track. Her eyes measured the blonde's stride and move. Not much had changed since the last time she'd watched her run. Smiling like the devil, Atia stood, prepared for onslaught of hate the girl would give her yet again. Atia strode out to the track and was waiting when Amara finished her run.

Amara, panting a little, stared at her in surprise. "You."

"And you. I didn't think you were in college," Atia smiled.

"I'm enrolling," Amara said stiffly.

"May I ask why?"

"To keep an eye on you."

Atia laughed. "Me? Oh, it's about Darien, isn't it? Don't worry; he's just a friend."

"Atia Tamuchi, you may begin!" the PA system announced.

Atia smiled again at Amara. "Later." Without a backward glance, the girl took off at what most would've considered a top speed - but it was only a jog for her. The girl sighed. The air blew against her, and she watched only the passing track around her. Running made her forget, made her think of other things. _Like when to speed up!_ she decided. With a skip-hop of good-moodiness, she sprang into a flat-out run that covered ground as quickly as a racehorse. She only stopped the hellish pace when she reached the end of the track, face-to-face with an astonished Amara.

"You...that's..."

"Not my best? I know, but I haven't run like that for quite a few years. Feels great." Atia walked over to the bleachers where her bag lay. She pulled a towel out and wiped the light glean of sweat off of her face, arms, and shoulders.

Her heart was hammering with delight and not exhaustion. The running reminded her of other things, things she had done an impossibly long time ago. However, only one person would provide a decent match, and that was Trista. But Trista wasn't here.

Being the last of the runners, Atia trotted back to the track, where Amara watched her with a frown. Not saying a word, Atia took off again. Suddenly she heard the hammering of feet behind her, and she glanced behind her. Amara.

"You're not going to beat me!" she sang over the rushing wind.

"That's what you think!" Amara was suddenly right beside her.

Atia laughed and gazed ahead. They were only a quarter of the way around the track! "No, that's what I know!" She flattened out into the pace she had finished the previous run in. Within seconds Amara had caught up with her again.

"Quit playing around and run, damn you!"

"Gladly!" Halfway around, Atia sped up again - and kept going faster. When she was running as fast as she possibly could, she found enough energy to span her to the finish. As her feet hit the white line, she heard Amara not more than five behind her finish. "Told you!"

Amara was looking slightly confused. "I've raced you before."

Not gasping for breath quite yet, Atia beamed as though she hadn't heard the comment. "A race well ran." Her legs burned, but she was used to the feeling and ignored their numbness as she walked back to her bag.

Just about then, the forgotten tack coaches came rushing around the corner, staring at the two girls in shock. "You both just beat the world record time!"

"I suppose that means we made the team?" Amara asked wryly. The judges nodded.

"So, if we keep it hush-hush, then we'll beat all the area schools," Atia snorted, grinning.

"We won't always run full out," Amara grinned.

"Just enough to beat everybody's butts. Then, later, we can tell everyone. It'll be...a secret." Atia's smile dared the judges to argue.

That done, the two girls walked off, then realized they were in their tracksuits moments before entering the busy Tokyo main city. Amara turned and stared at Atia. Like before, she no longer felt anger towards the girl. It was a come and go, an indescribable thing. "Race 'ya to the shower house!" Atia yelped, and Amara streaked after her.

They charged into the building and the same time and nearly fell over each other. Atia popped into one of the showers. Amara flushed one of the toilets, and Atia started shrieking. Amara was laughing so hard she didn't see the bucket of cold water dumped over her head until she felt it, then whirled around to see Atia, downed in a towel, holding the object of crime.

They were laughing so hard they collapsed to the floor.

*

"Atia!"

"Trista!" Atia turned around and faced her friend.

"You're all wet, Amara," Michelle smirked, coming up beside Trista.

"No thanks to her," Amara said with a grin.

"You're the one who turned the showers cold," Atia whined.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you two made the team?" Trista smiled.

Amara and Atia exchanged glances. "Who? Us?" Atia asked innocently.

"Nah," Amara shook her head.

Atia giggled and clapped her hands. "Yes. And I'm hungry."

"You ate before you left," Trista scolded.

"You only ran two laps," Amara added.

"You guuuys!"

*

He frowned, watching the four girls. "She has her speed, but has she the endurance?" he murmured, watching the girls head towards a restaurant. There was an angry clank from the corner of the room, and he glanced nervously over at the chained woman. 

_You'll never get away with this, Sebradon!_ an angry female voice snarled from the body.

"You won't be around long enough to find out," the man managed to retort. Why oh why had he brought her back so early? Did she know how much she frightened him? "I've already won the battle, 'qualthanio!" The answering shriek of anger nearly shook the castle to its foundation.

*

Atia, talking with Trista and the two cousins as they walked around the park, suddenly stumbled to her knees and almost dragged Trista down with her. Her head felt like it was splitting, and she could see only white before her. Her heart hammered in her ears, becoming the only thing she could hear. Her stomach roiled, and she was only dimly aware of someone grabbing her arm. 

Then it suddenly stopped. Her head ached but not like before, and she felt nauseous. She groaned, willing the pain in her head to go away.

"Atia, Trista! Are you guys okay??" Amara asked in alarm.

"Unh?" Atia looked to her left and saw Trista beside her, whiter than chalk. "Tris?"

"My head..."

Atia frowned, pain fading. She shoved herself to her feet, one hand coming to forehead as her head throbbed. "What the bloody hell." The girl somehow coined the familiar phrase into a statement. Her hand left her forehead, came to her chest over her heart. "Something's not right..." Trista stood, looking terribly shaken.

"Huh?" Michelle stared at interrogatively. "Atia?"

Atia's hand touched something hard through her shirt, then pulled a chain from under her shirt. The locket on the necklace was black as pitch with faint gold print. She fiddled with it, staring straight ahead. "Where?" Trista said quietly.

Atia seemed to consider the question, expression uncertainly frightened and upset. "Nearby. Very close." Her eyes scanned over the area, as though expecting someone to jump out of the bushes and slit her throat. 

Amara, watching her, saw her eyes widen, then relax. Her free hand came up, pointing at the far-away horizon. The sky was blue and serene. "There."

"There's nothing there," Amara murmured, more to herself than Atia. 

"No." Now the new girl's eyes hardened. "There's a storm coming, Amara. A very bad storm."

"So why can't we see it?" Michelle asked evenly.

"It's not the kind of storm you're thinking of, Michelle. 'By the prickling of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.' Shakespeare, the play _Mac Beth_." Atia's hand lowered to her side, and her other hand let go her locket. "Sun goes down, moon comes up, and dawn will leave something different."

Amara shot a questioning look at Trista. Was her new friend insane? "She's right." The Guardian glanced back at the horizon, that back at the sandy-blonde, a look of worried fear on her normally calm face. "She's always right." 


	14. Lean on Me

ï»¿ Sailor Moon, first to arrive on the scene, looked over the destruction, her mouth open in shock. 

"Horrible, isn't it?" a calm, quietly furious voice inquired.

The leader jumped. "Solar. I didn't hear you coming."

"Nor should you have. I teleported." Her narrowed eyes surveyed the section of ruined city that lay before them. There was a cry in the air, like the call of an eagle. Wind whistled through barren buildings. There wasn't a sound or soul in sight.

"Why?" Sailor Moon's breath exploded in a cry. "Why did he do this?! What is he after?! It's not right!"

Solar put a hand on her shoulder. "He did it because he can. Put plainly, he wants to kill us, Serena. Right now he's only threatening us."

It didn't even bother Sailor Moon that she knew who she was. "It'll get worse?"

"Much worse."

"What are you doing?"

"Calling the bird to us."

"Why?"

"So we can destroy it." A small ball of fire exploded into Solar's hand, and she tossed it up into the sky. It exploded like a signal flare.

"Where are the others?"

"They're coming."

"How do you always know all the answers?"

"When you've lived as long as I have, you'll find there's little you don't know."

The clattering of the other senshi's feet were drowned out by the angry shriek of the shadow bird. Sailor Moon whimpered and grabbed Solar's wrist as it reared up over the horizon, hiding the sun behind its giant wings. Instead of black, though, it was blood red. It looked more like...

"A phoenix!" Pluto and Solar chorused. Solar's mouth dropped, and Pluto shook her head in disbelief. "It's an illusion, then?" Pluto murmured.

"Yes." Solar's chuckle caught them all off guard. She snapped her fingers, and the larger-than life bird suddenly shrank to a size about her own height. "Praises be."

"A phoenix did this? There's no way. If it was that size, it's a miracle the entire population of earth wasn't wiped out."

"The bird didn't do it. No bird did it." Solar's expression turned crestfallen.

"If the bird was an illusion, is the city?" Destruction whispered, voicing the senshi's hope.

"No. The city is...as it appears." 

All the senshi were sobered and near tears at the destruction of Tokyo. "How do we fix it? How do we bring back all the lives that were lost?" Jupiter inquired. 

"Had this been anywhere else, I would have left it. Had this been another time, I would have left it." Solar watched the phoenix, silent now.

"But our friends our down there, dying, dead!" Tuxedo Mask said, voice sharp in alarm.

"If you're worried about the girl again, my prince, she is safe."

"How can anyone be safe down there?" Venus demanded, voice tight.

"Atia." Uranus stared at Solar and Tuxedo Mask in surprise. "You're talking about Atia."

"If that's her name, then yes. Again, don't worry about the girl. She can take care of herself."

"If she's okay, then prove it! Call her or something! Make her come to us!"

Solar never once looked at the senshi. "Why is this girl so important to you, Tuxedo Mask?"

"I know her the same way I know you. You're both shadows, hovering in my memories but never brought into the light. She's ill, Sailor Solar, and I worry about her constantly. I feel responsible for her in a way I cannot possibly describe."

"Ah." Solar lifted her head a little. "Look out there, Tuxedo Mask. Look at the people." Her voice shook in quiet fury and sorrow. "Look at them, dead and helpless. Left to die while their guardians wallowed in their own problems." Her fists clenched.

"Solar..." Pluto's voice held a warning note.

Solar cried out and spun around, arms wrapped tight around herself and eyes shut tight. "He knows what he's doing, Pluto! He knows what he's doing to me! I can feel myself slipping, loosing, giving in."

"But Solar," Pluto was smiling, "this isn't the past. This isn't the Silver Millennium. This is _Tokyo_. It's only a city. You can fix a city."

"I can fix a city, but I cannot fix an empire." Solar stared at the ground, eyes open now. "I cannot fix my own kingdom." She whirled around, swept a hand, palm-up, before her.

Suddenly the city began glowing. The buildings flew back into place; roads were rebuilt; bridges reconstructed. Everything was as it was before. Except for the people. The people, lifeless corpses, with blood tainting everything.

Solar's outstretched fist clenched, and the blood vanished. The bodies were healed, and the people looked like they were sleeping. Her fist tightened to the point of drawing blood, and the droplets pooled in her palm before splashing to the ground. A rose shot up, and suddenly the people woke up, sat up, got up, and walked around as though nothing had happened. Nor did they notice the hovering phoenix.

The newest sailor lifted her bleeding hand to the sky, and a blue bolt shot from her hand and covered the entire sky, then vanished. The phoenix disappeared as well. Solar's shaking hand came to rest before her eyes, then the cuts and blood vanished.

"Pluto." The woman looked at Uranus. "Why aren't you worried about Atia?"

"I know she's capable of taking care of herself. When you know her as long as I have, you just...know...these things."

Solar stared over the city. "They know nothing. The world knows nothing. If only I could...if there was a way..." She sank to one of her knees and picked the rose on the ground. "An emblem of promise and hope. And yet..." her thumb pricked itself on a thorn, "It has the ability to create tears and draw blood. Just like love."

She stood and tossed the rose off of the hill. A breeze picked it up and carried it out over the city, far out of sight. "Your friend, Atia? She isn't ill." She began walking down the hill. "She needs your love, trust, and faith. She doesn't need medications or constant watching." The girl glanced over her shoulder. "She needs your help. She's caught in a triangle that has only one way out. Make sure that door stays closed." Grabbing her hands behind her back, she continued walking. 

Her voice carried melodiously over the breeze in acapella song. "...and I never stopped to realize what was passing me by...with love as a gesture. Catch a glimpse, reflections of what would, should, and could have been...pictures, and memories, and hope once again..."

*

Serena flew up from her sleep with a gasp, sweat beading and running down her face. Had it really happened? Had Tokyo really been destroyed, only to be brought back again? The song Solar had been singing rang in her ears. "Hope once again," she whispered, flopping back down onto her bed and staring at the ceiling. "It would be nice to be able to hope for something besides hoping we can beat an enemy."

The blonde found herself unable to sleep. She rolled over onto her stomach and stared at her headboard. "It's Solar. That's it. She seems so sad. And angry; defiantly angry." She sighed. "She's a good fighter. Loyal." Serena looked towards her window, at the sky. "And then there's Atia. She's so nice. and helpful. She's a good friend, too." She shook her head. "What to make of them."

She silently got up and walked over to her window, sitting down on the ledge as she stared at the moon. "Why does my life have to be so complicated?" she whispered.

"Because, deep down, you know you love it," a familiar voice answered.

"Solar?" Serena started, staring at the sailor now sitting on her bed in surprise. "How'd you get here?"

"I teleported." Solar shrugged. "I could feel your confusion and thought I'd come pay you a visit, princess."

"You felt it?"

"M-hm. I can feel all of yours and the others' feelings. Most of the time I let it be, but I thought you might want some questions answered," Solar replied, smiling gently.

"Actually...yes. First of all, where do you get your accent from?" Serena shrugged down her surprise.

"On Saturn, we spoke many languages. I personally find some clips of the Japanese language difficult, but usually there is no accent."

"You mean, we had our own language?"

Solar nodded. "Each planet has it's own language - universal language, that is. For example, the earth's is English. The Moon's was Lunarian."

"Wow." Serena was silent for a moment. "Can you tell me some things about the Silver Millennium? I mean, not everything, but...well, tell me about you in the Silver Millennium. Tell me about Saturn."

For a moment, Solar looked uncertain, maybe even distraught. Then, she smiled. "I'd be glad to tell you about Saturn."

*

The sailor smiled, then stood silently and covered Serena up gently. As she turned towards the window, a hand enclosed around hers. "Solar?"

"Yes, Serena?" Solar turned back around.

"Thank you. Would you do me a little favor and...*yawn*...check on Darien?" she asked sleepily.

"Of course I will."

Serena smiled, then released her hand and fell asleep.

*

"-no sense!" he nearly shouted, grabbing at his hair in frustration. "What could be wrong with her?"

Darien stood up and paced, arms behind his back and head down ever so slightly. He was hot, wearing no shirt and rolling his pants legs up as a result. He sighed angrily, then paused to rub his increasingly-heavy eyelids.

Suddenly he heard keys on his keyboard tapping and whirled around, astonished out of speaking to see Sailor Solar sitting before it and typing in words on his internet research. "There's no name for it, prince. It's many things." She folded her hands in her lap and looked up at him with a soft smile.

"S-Solar! What are you doing here?" he asked, tone not un-kind.

"Serena asked me to come check on you. Good thing I did. Looks like you're near a breakdown. Wanna talk about it?" she asked, stretching her arms above her head.

He couldn't help from smiling, even if it was a sad one. "Can we go in the back? I think I need to lay down."

"Of course." She followed him to his bedroom and plopped down onto his bed, leaning against the headboard with her hands behind her head. "So, let me guess what's bugging you. A little bit of everything, including me. Am I right?"

Darien's eyes widened as he lay down beside her. "Yeah." Strange, he felt comfortable with her near him. Reassured, even.

"You're under a lot of stress. School's a bear, you're confused about the enemy, worried about the girl, and wondering what my deal is."

He didn't answer for a minute. "You're exactly right." It was her turn to listen now. "I just feel all this weight on my shoulders when we fight an enemy. It's like everyone looks to me as to what we should do when I really don't know myself. It's like they all lean on me, but the truth is...well..." she heard slight embarrassment in his voice as he sat up, "I don't feel I have anyone to lean on."

"Everyone needs someone to lean on." Solar put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, Darien, you can always lean on me."

"But...Solar...you keep saying you're going away soon. What will happen when you leave?" He was so stressed out she could hear tears in his voice.

She put an arm around him, and he leaned against her. "I honestly don't know. But until then, I'm here for you."

"You were there for me in the Silver Millennium. Something happened, and you were always there. Like a sister or even a mother," he said suddenly, remembering vaguely.

Solar's eyes softened. "Something did happen. When Brooke died, nobody knew what to do with you. Your father was double-loaded with responsibility and had no time to raise you. By that time, Lia had been decreed ruler of Saturn, leaving me with an open doorway. As fate would have it, Serenity brought up the notion that I could take care of you. So...I did."

"You were my mother?"

"I played the part, yes. Boy, did we have some interesting times," Solar replied wistfully. "I still remember, very clearly too, the day I arrived to take care of you. It was nearly two weeks after Brooke's death, and you were so depressed for a six year-old. You had given up eating, never talked, did nothing but mope. People always said you were fond of me, but I never really thought that much about it until you saw me arrive. You lit up brighter than the sun and ran up to me, and when I picked you up, you said very clearly, 'I missed you lots! Are you going to stay with me for a while? I have a picture I want to show you.' Then you ran and got a picture of me holding you when you were just a baby. You were so happy then, even without your mother."

Darien was having difficulty holding tears back. This woman was all but his mother, and she wouldn't even let him remember her. It was then he realized that she was suppressing their memories for a very important reason, one he was quite sure he didn't want to know.

He switched positions, leaning against her and leaning his head against her shoulder, stretching out the lower half of his body as though to lay down. Solar closed her eyes, then brought her other arm up and held him. Darien felt more secure, safe, and loved in that one moment that he could ever remember in his entire life.

The tears of frustration, confusion, hopelessness, and pain that he had been holding back broke free, cascading lightly over the edges of his eyes and coursing down his cheeks. They were absorbed by Solar's white body suit, and she gently ran her hand through his hair for reassurance.

*

When Darien woke up the next morning, Solar was still there, and he was still in her arms. Amazingly enough, he felt no aches or pains usually accompanied by sleeping in one/odd positions during the night. Glancing up at her, she slept easily, looking perfectly content.

Darien yawned softly, studying her. She, like Pluto, didn't show the age she surely must've been. Right now, she had the serenity of a goddess, but he knew that the peaceful features could flatten into murderous anger in no time flat.

Just as he was trying to think of a way to wake her up, his alarm clock went off, and the sailor that held him jerked ever so slightly and blinked sleepy eyes at the unfamiliar sound. She looked down at him, and they exchanged smiles.

"Good morning," she said around a yawn.

He chuckled. "Good morning."

"I guess I'd better get going, since you have school and all."

He heard the regret in her voice and sighed. "I guess so." Another odd thing - he'd been up half the night and didn't even feel tired. Neither moved for a few minutes, then Darien sat up, and Solar swung her legs off of the bed. "Oh! The phoenix...the city..."

Solar stood stiffly at the question. "That was not a dream."

He was stunned out of speaking for a moment, then, "Solar? Thank you."

"You're welcome. Anytime you need me, just call. I'll be there."

He didn't doubt her for an instant. 


	15. An Enemy's Trick

ï»¿ Atia tapped her pencil against her desk. She wasn't thinking about the blank test in front of her; she was too busy thinking of other things. Suddenly Darien kicked her sharply in the foot, and she jumped ever so slightly. She glanced up at the clock, and her eyes widened. Five minutes?! But moments ago she'd had fifty minutes! She hadn't meant to daydream that long... 

Within moments she had every question on the first two pages done and found herself staring at the last page. The only question at the top of the page had her stumped. _Some psychology class!_ she groaned inwardly.

'Who are you?' the question read.

Her pencil tapped the paper, then drew back, then touched it again, then drew back. She continued until Darien kicked her foot again. He was watching her out of the corner of his eye, she knew. How could she possibly say who she was when she wasn't sure herself? She put the only thing she knew to put -

'I am who I have always been, who I always will be. I am I.'

The bell rang. Atia glanced over at Darien's paper and saw a page-full to backside essay. She smiled as they both stood and handed in their tests. Darien stretched with a groan. "My hand is killing me. Did you even get done?"

"Yes, I did; thanks. I didn't realize it was so late."

"Not a prob." He slung his briefcase over his shoulder. "Boy, I'm glad tomorrow's Friday." He fumbled in his pockets and produced his keys, then tucked them back in, a precaution to make sure they were still there. "I'm going to skip study hall today; I'm glad I have the option."

"What are you going to do?" Atia inquired as they walked down the hall.

"I'm going to watch your gym class."

"Oh, really?" Atia asked with a smile. "Watch me make a fool of myself, hm?"

Before Darien could reply, Amara ran up behind him and clamped her hands over his eyes. Darien yelped and stopped in surprise. "Verrrry funny, Amara!"

"How'd you know it was me?" Amara chuckled, dropping her hands.

"Who else I know is still here on Thursday afternoons?"

"He does have a point," Michelle laughed.

Five minutes later Atia and Amara found themselves standing with the other group of college students that shared their gym class. The teacher announced it a free day, surprising them all. Atia immediately looked over at the un-even bars.

"You're kidding?" Amara said flatly, following her gaze.

"Not at all." Atia jogged to the contraption and dusted her hands in the powdered chalk, then walked back to the beginning runway. Kneeling down into a runner's stretch, she lurched off down the small track and jumped onto the spring, grabbed the lowest bar as her hands came in contact with it.

She spun around a couple of times, releasing the speed from her sprint. When her feet pointed towards the sky again, she turned around on her hands, then dropped her legs in a straddle split, toes touching the bar, and swung around again. With an extra push, she swung herself back up and turned back around, then dropped and jumped for the high bar.

After a another couple of minutes of jumping between the bars, she did a full layout off and landed without a wobble to find, feet neatly side by side and arms to the sides, wrists down and fingers splayed, as though finishing at a competition.

The moment her arms came down, though, she grabbed her left wrist and rubbed it ruefully, a funny look of surprise on her face. She looked up to find the rest of the class staring at her in shock, and she giggled, a teardrop forming by her head. "I used to be a gymnast." There were various forms of acknowledgement, then the students went about their business. Atia exhaled a mushroom, then stared at her wrist again. Funny; she didn't remember turning it wrong. 

She strode over to her duffel bag and pulled out a wrist brace, strapped it on quietly. "Atia! That was amazing!" Darien crowed, walking over to her.

"Thanks." Atia smiled. "I love the bars."

"That's easy to tell." Amara walked up to her as well. "You looked like a pro up there."

Atia smiled again. The paleness she felt in her face was covered by a light blush of excursion. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at a stretch of long rubber mat. 

"That? It's a tumble track, I think. Yeah, that's it." Darien watched her somewhat intently.

"Oh." Atia blinked, then walked over to it. She would've felt better in a leotard, but running pants and her T-shirt would have to do. She tucked the T-shirt in, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding it. She could feel her hammering heart slow, her tension flow to the palms of her hands and the arches of her feet. Opening her eyes, she ran seven fast strides, then launched into a cascade of gymnastics moves.

She didn't feel what she was doing; it came naturally. She closed her eyes and let the tension in her hands and feet direct her. She had done this so long ago, only it hadn't been for fun then. It had been hard training, tactics to save her life. Now...

Atia felt herself slowing down, then doing a front aerial and landing in the splits. Her eyes flew open at the hard impact of ground, and she stared ahead for a moment before standing. Her hand came up and touched her chest, over her heart; it was racing again. Again she willed it to slow. Again she willed her tension away. She stared at her hands.

They were no longer white from chalk and were quite red. Her right pointer finger had a scratch on it; she sucked on it ruefully for a moment, enough to make it stop bleeding, and let it fall to her side, glancing back down the track behind her. "How far I've come."

*

Trista grabbed Atia's wrist and pointed at bright flash of fire. "There. Transform."

Atia looked away, then looked at Trista. "Solar System Power!!" Trista's eyes widened as Atia's eyes became unseeing, blind to the world. When the transformation was complete, she looked at Trista, sapphire teardrop shimmering. The light died, and Solar's eyes became normal.

"It's that crystal." Trista tapped it. Solar's eyes crossed as she attempted to look up at it. "When it shines, you can't remember."

"But I've always had that crystal and never had that problem." Solar's deft fingers removed the jewel from its position. She held it in her hand, rolled it over. "It's the same as it's always been."

"Give to Mercury and let her scan it with her computer. Pluto Planet Power!!" 

"But, Pluto, I..." her voice faltered. "I still don't remember, and I'm not even wearing the damn thing!"

"Give it time, Solar," Pluto said gently, laying a hand on her friend's arm. "Come on. They'll be waiting."

As they ran, stride for stride, Solar shook her head and scratched her forehead. The dangling crystal beads itched with nothing to hold them down. "Gerah!" In a fit of anger, she pulled the things out of her hair and stuffed them into her fist. She shook her bangs out of her eyes.

They arrived just in time to dodge a cyclone frenzy of fire. "LaVear!" Pluto shrieked, and Solar echoed the cry as they saw the pink-haired girl before them. 

"LaVear, God no, wake up!" Solar cried, looking horrified.

The enemy girl stared at Solar and Pluto, her upside-down heart vanishing for a moment. "Princess...cousin-"

"LaVear, please!" Solar looked near tears, cutting her off just before her name was spoken. "Oh, wake up!"

"Trista..." the girl's voice trailed off, then black flames cannoned up around her, and when they vanished, the black heart was still there. The girl shot fire again, and Solar barely managed to dodge it.

"No, LaVear, stop!"

"Don't do this!"

"_Please!_" Solar and Pluto's voices chorused their plea.

LaVear laughed wickedly. "Sorry, girls! Times are changing!" She struck out yet again and managed to get Destruction, who jumped before an astonished Mini Moon.

The senshi, minus Pluto and Solar, struggled to fight her, but they couldn't land a mark on her.

"Solar, please, help us! She's kicking our butts!" Sailor Moon shouted, running up to her.

"She's my cousin! I can't kill my cousin!"

"She'll kill you and us all if you don't stop her!"

"Solar!" LaVear sauntered up to her. "Come on, you and me. Let's go." Solar stared up at her. Her eyes...they weren't right...they were black...LaVear's eyes were dark blue. Tears gathered at the edges of her eyes. With one deft movement, LaVear grabbed her arm and hauled the sailor to her feet.

"LaVear, no! Have you forgotten everything? Everything we worked for in the past?" Solar instinctively blocked a punch, then a kick. "Don't you remember me? Or Trista, Lia, Sky, Giallia, Demetrie, Tier, Savah, or even Tatanya? What about your sister? Have you forgotten Ocean? LaVear, please, stop!"

At Ocean's name, the girl froze, one hand secure on Solar's arm and the other inches from her face. With a cry, the pink-haired enemy stumbled back. "Cousin, Trista...please, forgive me..."

Solar's eyes widened as a freak streak of red lightning raced from the sky and struck LaVear where she stood. "Oh, no...no..._LaVear_!!" she screamed, cringing away from the giant shadow eagle that erupted inches from her face.

The force of the bird's arrival threw her, Sailor Moon, and Pluto back, and Pluto yelped as she crashed into an oak tree. Solar grabbed Sailor Moon and pulled herself and the leader to one side as the bird's wing flapped up and cannoned into the air.

"Mercury!" The blue-haired girl hurried to her. "Analyze this and look for anything abnormal." Solar thrust the sapphire teardrop into the younger one's hand, and she dropped the crystal beads to the ground. "Worthless," she muttered, then jumped to her feet. "Senshi! Form up in a circle, spread out, back! On the count of three, shoot to the sky! One...two...wait for it...three!"

There was an ear-shattering shriek, and the bird exploded into a cloud of black fog, then was all but blown away. It was gone. 

"Solar!" Mercury said urgently, hurrying up to her. "This jewel...my computer..." Solar grabbed both and stared at the frantically flashing screen.

"'_Nakeha quarin oaask?_'" she murmured aloud. Her eyes widened, and she thrust the computer back into Mercury's hands, then reared her left arm, hand holding the crystal, up and threw it back towards the ground, releasing the jewel. It shattered violently into the ground, sending blue shards everywhere. Upon hitting the ground, the shards turned black and smoked heavily, then suddenly vanished. Solar glared up at the sky. "I know you're there! You're going to pay for this, Sebradon! You're going to pay!"

Suddenly a voice laughed, cackling around them. "That's what you think, Sailor Solar. I have somebody...very _dear_...to you in my company. She's just _dying_ to see you and Trista again..." 

"Ha!" Actually, the sound Solar made was beyond putting into words, sounding more like the cry of a baby bird being choked or someone being punched in the gut. She looked ready to faint, one hand over her mouth. "He can't. There's n-no way."

Suddenly man materialized beside Solar. "Anything is possible, love."

"No. No, it can't be." Solar whirled to face him, staring at him with near-tears and hate-filled eyes.

"Ah, but it is." The man grabbed her lift wrist. Solar shrieked involuntarily in pain, trying to break way from his grasp. "Listen to me and listen to me good, Princess Saturn. I will do whatever it takes to kill the senshi. Once I do that, I'll search all reaches of life until I find your cousins, and then I'll bring all five of you together, and then I'm going to torture each one of you until you tell me where that damned Silver Crystal is!"

"Never!" Solar's free hand came up and sharply slapped his face. He released her in surprise, and Solar jumped up to grab the tree branch above her head, then swung back to sit on it. "You'll never kill them and as sure to hell you'll never find Ocean and Sky!"

"Anything's possible, princess. Anything." 

Something about the way he said that made her pale. "Leave, Sebradon. You're on my turf now."

He chuckled. "It won't be your turf for long. I leave you with this one, simple task - if you show me the Silver Imperium Crystal before two months, I'll let all of you live."

Solar leaned over and held out the palm of her hand. There was a pale flash of light, and what appeared to be the Silver Crystal flashed into being. Sebradon's eyes widened, and Solar smirked. "Is this it? This shiny rock is _all_ you want? No, Sebradon; I don't believe you." As he lunged for it, it vanished from her hand in a white puff of smoke.

"You son of a-" his right arm contracted, then spiraled out a ball of fire. Solar jumped out of the tree but was rewarded by a hail of splinters. Suddenly all Solar could see was black. When she saw again, it was just in time to dodge another blast of fire. Sebradon was about to strike at her again when he stopped and frowned. "In a split second, you've changed. But...how?"

Solar took a step back. "You're the one who has changed, Sebradon." Her voice, although with an icy edge, was different somehow. "_Kawine malosa taa!!_" With that, Sebradon involuntarily froze, staring at her incredulously. "It's just a spell. Certainly you remember my spells?" There was a flash of light around her. When it vanished, she was no longer a sailor scout but something different. [If you've ever seen the Scorpian King...well, you know what I mean.]

"Sorceress!" Sebradon spat.

"Very good." The woman that was once Solar pointed at him. "Thing of evil, be gone!" Sebradon vanished with a shout of fury and surprise. The woman looked at herself where the splinters had rained and saw red blood trickling down her side. "Shit."

"Now who are you?" Uranus asked evenly.

The woman didn't even look up. "I am the Sorceress of Saturn."

"How can you be a princess and a sorceress?" Neptune inquired skeptically.

"When you have three older siblings and a twin, it's very easy to do."

"What was wrong with the sapphire?" Mercury asked.

"It was bespelled. Triggered to make me forget when I'm not a sailor. And it was doing a hell good job of that, too!" she spat angrily, but her anger was not directed at the senshi. Beside her, the tree blazed furiously. The woman snapped her fingers, and it went out like a light. The blood and cuts up her side vanished, as did the injuries on the senshi from the pink-haired LaVear's attack.

The Sorceress flashed into Solar, who sank to her knees, staring up at the full moon. "How long it's been." A hand touched her shoulder, and she looked up at Pluto. "What are we going to do?"

"Kick his ass, of course. He brought back LaVear - who knows who else he'll bring back for us to fight!"

"You don't mean-"

"Yes. If he brings Serenity back, then we're done for."

"He wants the Crystal." Sailor Moon clutched her brooch. "You showed it to him, but it never left me."

"It was a duplicate, a hologram. It didn't really exist."

"You didn't give it to him," she whispered.

"Of course not."

"With all of his power, he cannot sense the Crystal?" Jupiter rose an eyebrow.

"I've hidden it from him with my powers, just like I've hidden Ocean and Sky from myself." Her fists clenched. "He doesn't want the Crystal. He was lying. He was trying to trick me into trying to save our lives, but it was a lie."

"Earlier...when we destroyed the bird...how did you know what you were doing?" Mars's question made her smile, ever so faintly.

"In the past, I trained all of you. That was one of the defense attacks that I taught you and my army."

"Now who are you?" Uranus asked again, never loosing her edge.

"The head of the Saturn army and the trainer of the prince and princesses of the Silver Millennium. As I said before, I am many people."

"You are a princess, a sailor scout, a sorceress, a trainer, an army captain, a guardian, a protector. But you are also a normal person between all this. I'd be more interested to learn about _her_ than I would be about any of the others, for she is new to all of us, I'm sure," Uranus mused.

Solar smiled. "More so than you think."

The moonlight struck Solar and Pluto, almost making them glow. It was in that moment that senshi realized they were different, different from them and any other people they knew.


	16. Believe

ï»¿ "Rein him in! No!, don't let him get away with that!" Trista shouted, fingers tightening around the leather reins in-between her fingers. 

Atia, in response, shrieked as her stallion bugled a call and jumped away from the bright red flag. Plunging madly, he plowed himself and rider right into the opposite barrel, knocking the barrel, sand bucket, flag, and himself, over. Trista winced as she saw her friend's leg become pinned between horse and barrel. There was a mighty clang as Atia was thrown out of her saddle and into the fence as Sleetcold struggled to stand.

The over-excited stallion roared and thrashed frantically, throwing the white barrel onto Atia, who shouted and covered her face with her arms. He plunged to his feet and reared up, shying away from the barrels and galloping up to Trista and her mount in fear.

"Atia! Are you okay??" Trista called in alarm, trotting the roan gelding she was on over to her friend and dismounting quickly.

Atia groaned. "My leg is killing me." Shaking, she rolled her pants leg up and gasped as her fingers brushed an already-growing black bruise. "Ow, ow, ow..."

"I guess he doesn't do flags, hm?" Trista asked gently, shoving the barrel away from them.

"Apparently not." Atia's fingers grabbed the fence behind her, and she hauled herself to her feet. "_Ah_!" She let out a high-pitched exhale of air and stumbled. Trista caught her, trying not to grab hold of her shoulders for fear of other injuries.

"Do you want me to try him?" the green-haired woman asked quietly.

"Only if you want to. God, that bastard," Atia whispered, but she loved the horse and was just releasing steam.

"I don't mind. Here, let me help you over to the gate." Slowly the two hobbled over the gate, and Atia leaned against it heavily.

"Sleet!" She let out a curt whistle, and the stallion pranced up to her, stopping a few feet out of her grabbing reach uncertainly. "Come on, it's okay," she murmured, extending a hand. The stallion shook his head, then dropped his muzzle in her palm. "Good boy."

"Could you hold Talin?" Trista asked, grabbing the horse's reins and leading him up to Sleet and Atia.

"Of course. Here." Trista handed Atia the reins, then rightened the barrel, put some hand back into the bucket, put it on top of the barrel, then put the red flag securely in the bucket. She walked back to Atia and took the reins, then mounted the black horse and walked him around a little. "Watch his left lead! He tends to hop."

"Got it!" Trista called. "Does he need direct rein?"

"He obeys leg commands better."

Trista nodded, then brought the horse back at a trot. When he stilled, Trista gave a sharp whistle and nudged him in the sides. As they approached the barrel at a canter, she could feel the horse's gait stiffen, then lock when they were two feet from the barrel. The horse squealed as he tried to balk. Trista, prepared, stood in the stirrups and grabbed the shank of the bit, then forced his chin to his neck, holding his head up all the while. He snorted and tried to shake his head, but the position prevented him from doing so. "Enough!" she said sharply, releasing one hand and giving him a sharp slap in the neck before grabbing it again. Quivering ever so slightly, he stilled almost completely. The woman nudged him back towards the flag, and he knew better now than to balk. Trista leaned over and quickly picked the flag from the bucket, then let him have his head. Eager to move, the stallion bolted to the far barrel. Trista swung him around it, then flat-out ran him the final barrel, leaning over and sticking the flag securely in the other bucket at a speed of forty-five miles an hour. Before Sleetcold could even see the flag, she spun him in a tight circle and stopped. 

"It is possible," Atia said with a tight smile. "Good moves."

Trista chuckled and then smiled at her. "Thanks, even though you are the one who taught me that."

Atia smiled wryly. "Maybe I should pin flags all around his stall so he gets used to them." Trista laughed.

Suddenly a familiar voice called, "Trista! Atia! We saw the entire thing! You guys are amazing!"

"Rini!" Atia said in surprise, then watched as Amara, Serena, Darien, and Serena followed her. She smiled warmly. "What are you guys doing here? Where's Michelle?"

"She's at violin practice," Amara replied.

"We were on our way out to supper and saw your car, so we figured to stop by and see if you guys wanted to join us," Darien answered.

"Autumn's inside; is it okay if she comes, too?" Atia asked, shaking the bangs out of her eyes. "That's fine," he replied with a grin.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" Trista smiled, legging the prancing stallion into a complicated dressage move to make him calm down.

"You guys are, like, joined at the hip or something," Serena giggled. "Wherever one is, there's the other."

Rini nodded, then frowned. "Atia, are you okay? I saw him fall..."

"I'll be fine. Just a couple of bruises."

"Would you want to barrel race him again? Or are you up to it?" Trista asked with a smile.

"Sure." Trista rode up to her and dismounted. Atia walked up to the stallion, then removed his saddle and blanket. 

"He needs to cool off," Atia murmured, feeling her friend's curiosity. 

"Leg-up?"

"Please." Trista knelt a little and cupped her hands. Atia put her foot in her hands, then was quickly on the back of her horse. Her back towards the others, only Trista saw the look of intense pain cross her face. "Th-thanks."

Trista put a hand on her leg. "Look, you don't have to race him. It was just a suggestion."

"No. I'm fine."

Atia turned him towards the barrels, then stopped. Sensing something wrong with his mistress, the stallion did not act up as he had done earlier. The girl took a deep breath, then leaned forward and shouted, "Ha!" as they took off at a dead run.

Sleetcold was told to cut sharply, slowing only to avoid running into the fence. Atia's knees and thighs gripped his sides, her hands tight on the reins to guide the hardheaded stallion. She didn't slide or slip in the least bit. He crossed up in the figure eight pattern and spun around the second barrel, then ran like hell was on his heels to the last barrel. He whipped sharply around it, then ran faster (if possible) back towards Trista. Atia spun him, and he shook his head with a snort.

Atia was seeing stars from the pain. Her leg felt like it was on fire from gripping. She kicked her right leg over, then landed clumsily on it instead of her left leg. Temporarily loosing her balance, she clutched Sleet's mane. He stood stock-still, turned his head and touched her side with his nose with a soft whicker. Atia gently touched his nose, and he whickered continuously as he bobbed his head for a moment, then swung his head around and lowered the upper half of his body to the ground, kneeling before her. Atia smiled, then slid back onto his back. He stood as though she wasn't there and walked to the gate, pawing the ground until Trista opened it, swinging his saddle on Talin's back.

*

Rini rode with Atia, Autumn, and Trista. Atia's sky blue mustang followed Darien's red one through town after they had picked up Michelle. As they drove, Atia's cell phone rang. Never once looking down, and with an annoyed sigh, she answered it. "Hello?"

There was a familiar chuckle, then the line went dead. Atia glanced in her rear-view mirror with a frown and saw nothing as she put the phone down, then glanced up as they neared an intersection. As they were between the four lanes, she gasped as she saw a semi truck barreling towards them. If she sped up, she'd rear-end Darien. There was a crescendo of screaming, of tires and of humans both, as she slammed on the breaks and turned sharply to the left, spinning around in a tight circle as the vehicle roared past them.

Atia immediately gunned the accelerator, stopping the circling and sending them flying forward, through and away the intersection. "What was that about?!" Trista demanded.

"I don't know. I guess...he's getting desperate," she replied through clenched teeth. Her bruised leg had been slammed into the car door, and she was having trouble concentrating. "Look at my phone and tell me the number that last called." Trista did as she was told and bit her tongue so hard it bled. "Tris?" Atia asked in alarm, glancing at her friend and seeing blood leaking from the corners of her mouth.

"It says...U-DIE-SOO-NATI."

"Only Lia called me Ati," Atia said sharply. Trista's mouth stopped bleeding as she frowned. "He's bluffing. He has to be."

"Ti, you don't think he'd reincarnate her, do you?" Autumn asked uncertainly from the back seat.

Atia closed her eyes briefly. When they opened, they shimmered with tears. "Pray he doesn't."

At about that time, Darien slowed so that Atia had to pull up beside him. "You guys okay?" Amara shouted.

"Fine!" Trista called back, giving a fake smile.

A single tear escaped Atia's eye and ran down her face, whipped away immediately by the wind. "Lia."

*

The moment Atia stepped out of her car and put weight on her left leg, she fell to her knees. The pain was dizzying, and her ribs and back hurt as well. Carefully extending her left leg before her, she rolled up her pants leg and groaned. The bottom half of her leg was black with bruising, and her upper leg was mottled green and blue. It was a miracle within itself that nothing had been broken. _Get up!_ her paranoid mind shouted at herself. _Get up, get up, get up! He could be anywhere!_

She seized the door of her car and hauled herself up quickly, careful to favor her left leg. Even so, she felt like she was going to fall. When her hand came out for balance, she was surprised to find someone grab her arm and lean against her. Atia closed her eyes in momentary defeat.

"Come on, let's go," Trista said gently. "We'll sit down in a moment."

"This is why you're my best friend, you know that, right?"

The other smiled and gave her a brief hug. "Of course."

"Trista? You'll always be here with me, won't you?"

"Of course I will."

"Atia!" Serena was beside her, blue eyes wavering in alarm. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Seren." She smiled. "Just a little...subdued."

*

Darien, Serena, Michelle, Amara, and Rini all noticed something different about Atia. She seemed more in touch, less...out of it...than they realized she had been since they met her. She was more prone to laugh, comment, and make general talk.

At the end of the meal, there was a modest and brief discussion about who was paying which Darien ended up winning. As they stood from the round bench to leave, Trista paused to help Atia up so Trista was in front of her.

Suddenly Atia yelped loudly, as though someone had kicked her sore leg, and quickly but gently pushed Trista to her left just as an explosion sounded from the opposite side of the room. Trista gave a cry of her own and grabbed the table edge, knowing what was happening and whirled around just in time to see the power hit Atia and send her crashing into the wall. The girl didn't make a sound as she fell onto the bench and lay unmoving.

"Atia!!" Trista shrieked. "Rini, get yourself and Autumn out of here!"

"Right," she said uncertainly, voice shaking with worry as she grabbed Autumn's hand. "Autumn, come on." The brunette was shaking and staring at Atia in shock. "Autumn! Please!" Rini tugged on her friend's hand. Shaking her head in disbelief, Autumn turned and followed Rini at a dead run out of the restaurant.

"Girls!" Serena said, opening her communicator. "Problem at Vicadi's! Pronto!"

*

Pluto stood before the round bench, guarding the person behind it. As she watched, the enemy dissolved into Sebradon, who laughed. "Your devotion to the girl is amazing, Guardian. Well, if you're unwilling to move, I'll have to destroy you. You see, this blast is powerful enough to kill two people on contact. Give it a try, hm?"

The green-haired woman's eyes widened, and she held her Time Staff out before her. As the attack roared towards her, she found herself screaming the only thing that came to mind. "_Lia!! Help me!_" Realizing what she had said, she cried out in dismay.

But then, suddenly, the room flared as though it were on fire, then stopped. The senshi and Sebradon were astonished to see Pluto's staff begin glowing hot purple and blood red. As the attack neared to the striking point, Pluto's staff roared with the light, and the attack struck it.

It was like hitting a metal wall.

The attack roared and thundered against the invisible barrier, making the ground shake. The staff glowed brightly again, and the blistering attack roared back towards Sebradon, who jumped out its harmful way.

The glow around Pluto's staff sparkled, then wafted over to the beholder and swirled around her before vanishing completely. Tears were running silently down Pluto's face, and she closed her eyes briefly.

"What did you do?!" Sebradon shouted, recovering his composure.

Pluto stared at him disbelievingly and shook her head. "I believed in her. Never doubt the believers, Sebradon."

The senshi didn't miss the fact that their enemy's face was chalk white and that he was quivering in shock - or fear. He shouted angrily before yelling, "You got lucky this time, Pluto! Next time-"

"Get out of here, Sebradon!" the woman interrupted, waving the staff in a wide arc around her. "You are no longer welcome on earth! Go!"

In a roar of angry black flame, he did just so.

As he vanished, a white, misted hand appeared, and Pluto put hers up against it, grabbing it tightly. A body unfolded in front of her. A ghost of a woman was on a knee before her, one hand clenched and pressed over her heart, and the other gripping Pluto's. Her hair was long, full, and wavy. The dress she was wearing was long, spilling out onto the floor behind her. She smiled sadly. "Lia, thank you," Pluto whispered, staring down at her. With that, she knelt in front of her friend, and the two embraced.

_Watch out, dear friend. Stay strong and do not give up. Do not be fooled. He's pulling me into his charade, but you must be strong. Fight well..._Her voice trailed off for Pluto to finish. "...live long." The other vanished, leaving Pluto on one knee. "Oh, Lia..."


	17. Power Quest

ï»¿ When her eyes opened, she groaned at where she was. She didn't want to be here. 

"M'lady, you're awake," a familiar said in relief. 

"Atlanta. How did I get here?" she asked tiredly, folding her hands over her stomach.

"Lady Autumn brought you back, of course." The white mare that was speaking to her walked around, hooves making gentle clicking sounds. "You have been healed of your black-out spells, she said." The beautiful unicorn turned to look at her.

"Yes."

"She also told me the predicament of the senshi." The blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "And of your own."

"Atlanta, I told you about that already!" she groaned, gently probing her ribs for soreness. There was, of course, none.

"Of your cousin LaVear?"

The woman's hand collapsed against her side. "Atlanta, please, no more talk of the enemy."

"Yes, m'lady." The unicorn lifted a front hoof and tapped the ground with it. "Loki sends his apologies for your leg. He-" She was cut off as a high-pitched scream of a wild cat echoed through the room. "If you'll pardon me, Lady Solar..."

"Yes yes, go ahead," she said, waving a hand. When the unicorn had cantered out of the room, she sat up and swung her legs over the bed. Lifting her silky white dress, she saw no bruising from the flag incident and stood up.

Lady Solar walked over to a shimmering ball and stared at it. There was Autumn, talking to Rini. Trista was riding the roan gelding again and looked up, as though sensing her, and smiled. Darien was on a date with Serena. Michelle and Amara were playing music, which halted momentarily at her passing. The other four girls were shopping. Luna, Artemis, and Diana were at the arcade, monitoring things as she was. She watched the two older felines' tails fluff at her prescience. 

Taking a deep breath, she reached in her heart for her cousins. Her hands on the shimmering globe before her, she poured all her heart, mind, and soul song into it, desperately trying to find them. She was rewarded with their far away voices. She could not make out their words, but their voices were enough, for she hadn't heard them in over a thousand years. Tears ran down her face and struck the globe. Quite suddenly she could see her cousins. They stopped talking immediately.

*

Ocean felt it first, a faint lingering of her cousin's being. She thought nothing of it; that happened a lot when she was missing her. But then, all of a sudden, she saw Sky's eyes widen as she looked behind her. Whirling around, she saw a faint apparition of Atia. The blonde walked up to Ocean, then up to Atia.

Her outstretched hand went right through the fog. "Atia. You're alive, aren't you? God, I want to come home!"

She must've looked puzzled, for Ocean walked up to them and added, "Serenity said we cannot come back until we've felt the pain of a thousand knives in our hearts."

Lady Solar opened her mouth, but she couldn't get anything out. She shook her head and lifted her hands, trying futile to make them work into hand signals. "We...need...your...help..."

Suddenly a dark tidal wave rose up and drowned over the hologram. When it settled into a thick black pool, then sizzled into nothing, the two cousins knew she was gone. 

*

Lady Solar shrieked as her powers backfired and all but kicked her back to the Solar Orbit. The explosion through her hands sent her falling back and caused her to land on her backside - hard. She stared at the globe in dismay and saw black.

Shaking her head, she stood. "Enough is enough." In a roar of purple flame, she vanished.

*

The horse Trista was riding didn't seem to mind the sudden eruption of flame that reared up at its left side. Trista stared at it as Atia materialized. "Where were you?" she asked breathlessly, jumping from the saddle and meeting her friend half-way in an embrace.

"Autumn sent me to the Orbit."

"Damn; she had us all believing you went back to Gastadylia for the past two weeks."

"TWO WEEKS?!" The horse did mind the sound and reared up in alarm. "I'VE BEEN GONE FOR TWO WEEKS?!"

"Calm down!" Trista pleaded, grabbing her friend's shoulders. "Yes, you've been gone for two weeks. Autumn said that unicorn of yours kept you under a complete healing sleep the entire time. There's been no attacks, okay? We're all alive. We're fine."

*

Autumn and Rini were lying on their backs, watching the sunset, when Rini spoke up. "She's not in Gastadylia, is she?"

The brunette closed her eyes briefly. "No. No, she's not."

"What is the Solar Orbit, Autumn? Why does the unicorn call her 'm'lady'? Please tell me."

The other was silent for a moment, then sat up quietly. "The Solar Orbit is an invisible orbit that surrounds the solar system and lies just beyond Pluto. Only, it's not really an orbit; it's a huge stretch of land. Like an elongated and stretched out planet, I guess.

"Anyway, Atia used to live there before she became the princess. You see, she had another life and another role - she was Lady Solar, the Protector. Of course no one knew she existed, but she didn't mind. It was her role to defend the planets and keep bad things out of the solar system. Which she did.

"Atlanta and the wolves are just three examples of the different kind of life on that Orbit. See, Atia collects mythical animals and animals that really shouldn't exist. She gets them from all across the universe and brings them back to the Orbit. She has quite an...extensive...collection.

"They call her by royalty titles because, in every aspect, she is royalty. A long time ago, before the Silver Millennium, she was the most powerful being ever to exist anywhere. She's known wherever life exists. Nothing could defeat her." Autumn shook her head. "Nothing."

"So, what happened to her powers?" Rini inquired.

"She doesn't know." Autumn stared up at the sky. "One day, she wanted to try something different, to become part of a real live family. She thought it wouldn't last very long, but once she started...she couldn't tear herself away from it. Well, let me try that again. She decided to be born into a family, so she made herself become reborn. When she was born, she still had her memories and retrained her ability to be like an adult. She had some powers, too. She never used them much until she became a sailor. Even so, she found she didn't have her powers anymore. I mean, strong ones yes, but not her universal ones. She doesn't know how to get them back." Rini saw tears in her eyes. "And if she doesn't figure it out in a hurry, she'll have to fight Sebradon without them - or die trying."

*

Atia shook her bangs out of her eyes and ran her gaze over the parchment, then scribbled something down on a piece of paper. The thing vanished, and as she watched her moving hand, she grabbed another scroll and glanced at it. She wrote something else down, then read what she was writing.

What she saw made her face flush with anger, and her fingers tightened threateningly around her pen, and her other fist balled. With a shout of rage, she jumped to her feet, slamming her chair to the ground.

"Think," she whispered, trying to make her suddenly surfaced temper go away. "Just think. If you can't have your powers to fall back on, at least you can your physical condition. That's it. Just...work out." As she had been talking, she'd been grabbing her keys and heading out the door. She jogged down the steps of her apartment and opened the main door. "And maybe you can work on anger management as you do so."


	18. Secrets Revelaed

﻿ body Three weeks later Atia found herself staring into a mirror, flushed and sweating from her workout. She'd been doing nothing but exercising, running, dancing, and singing for two weeks straight. The results were more than worth the effort. While it wasn't sufficiently top-notch, her physical shape was returning, looking more like it had been a thousand years ago. She had been stronger than most people when she'd started working out, but now... 

"It's still not enough. Why can't I get back into shape?" she whispered. She stared at her arm and flexed it. Raw bouts of pain flew through it. She hissed a curse and held the muscle, massaging it to ease the cramps.

Just then, Amara walked in. She frowned at the taller girl. "Atia, I'm worried about you. You spent all the spring vacation doing nothing but being here." Her eyes widened as she saw her newest friend more closely. Normal people didn't gain that much muscle over a two-week course. "What are you trying to do?"

Despair welled up inside Atia. She wanted to break down and tell Amara everything. But how could she? Amara would never understand or remember. And she didn't want to be enemies with her again. "It's just..." She flexed her arm again; no pain. "I can't..." Her voice trailed off, and anger coursed through her. Before she could stop herself, her first flew straight into the mirror she had been looking into. Glass shattered as though a wrecking ball had crashed into it. Shards of the stuff struck the girl in the face, chest, shoulders, and arms, and her knuckles were nothing but blood.

"Atia!" Amara stared at her incredulously. 

Atia looked alarmed, as though she hadn't meant to crash the glass. She stared at her shaking hand and shook her head. It was then she realized she had not lost her famous temper, her anger that had led to so many different things. Tears filled her eyes, but she willed them away. Blood ran down her arm, chest, and face. Her whole body was shaking now, upset at her discovery.

Amara's eyes softened. "Atia, if you want to talk, I'll listen."

One tear leaked down the other's face. She wiped her hand across it, spreading the blood. The sight of it didn't seem to bother her. "Amara, I know we haven't known each other that long. It's nothing I can explain, but I trust you," she choked out, stepping back from the mirror.

The shards of glass suddenly flew back into the shattered mirror frame. With a pale flash of light, the perfectly assembled mirror was there with not a crack to find. Before Amara could react, the blood and injuries from the mirror vanished on Atia's body. The blonde opened her mouth to say something, but there was a sudden bout of screaming from the main gym. She hesitated. There would nowhere else to transform. 

"You trusted me. Now it's my turn to trust you. Uranus Planet Power, Make-Up!!"

They stared at each other then, friend to friend. Atia smiled a little, then gestured towards the gym. Sailor Uranus smiled back, then turned and left the restroom. The tears ran out of Atia's eyes. "Will things ever be the same?"

*

The senshi were about to get their butts kicked when a gloved hand picked up a bar weight that measured up to be nearly three hundred pounds. They watched in surprise as Sailor Solar hefted it up, grabbed it with both hands, and then slammed it into the head of the man attacking them. The sound of metal crushing bone tore through the area. The man fell to the ground, dead. His body vanished, turned to a corpse, and was replaced by the hawk-like shadow. It had more shape than usual.

"Took you long enough!" Pluto scolded.

"I thought you said they needed to be healed," Mini Moon added curiously.

"Not all of them. And I had some detours along the way." The shadow lunged at her, but she ducked away. "I'm not in the mood for this..." The closest senshi could hear anger seeping into her voice.

"Solar! Watch it!" Pluto called in alarm, sensing her friend's anger.

It took all the self-control the sailor had to keep her anger at bay. Her movements were curt and jerky. She blasted the bird back repeatedly, enraging it as well as herself. Just when Sailor Moon was about to blast it, the hovering bird screamed. A mist began to cloak it. When the mist disappeared, a man stood in its place, staring down at the senshi. He lowered himself to the ground, stared sweetly at Solar, who backed away. "It's nice to see you too."

"Go. Leave them alone." Her anger doubled over and collapsed in a new wave of uncertainty.

"And who's going to make me?" he asked softly. "Certainly not yourself, hm?"

Suddenly Solar looked up, looking almost angry again. "Lia." Her eyes scanned the area, then came to rest on the man. "What have you done with her?!" she shrieked, her obvious fear dying.

The man started. "What do you mean?"

"Three words - where is Lia?" Pluto was quivering and angry as well.

"I see there's no getting past you two," he growled quietly. He no longer had the element of surprise. But he did have the element of postponing. "All in good time, my friends." A blast of dark power roared into the crowd of senshi, who scattered. Solar didn't jump far enough away, and a trail end of the explosion struck her upper arm in a blistered band. "All in good time." Then he vanished.

"Sebradon!!" Solar's pained screech echoed throughout the deserted gym. "You coward!!" Tears fell down her face. "You liar. Traitor. Good for nothing...hopeless...ngh!" She whirled around and punched a punching bag so hard it flew off the ring and soared to the other side of the gym. Blood ran down her arm.

*

The ghost of a woman watched the man reappear. He looked haunted and distressed. _I hope they beat the living crap out of you._ Her voice was so cold it made him shudder.

He turned to face her. "It's time now, 'qual. It's your turn."

_Do you really think you can get away with this?!_

"No." His eyes narrowed. "I know I can." He raised his arm and called the power of Change. "And you're going to help me!"

*

Amara went back up to the bathroom to see Atia standing there, putting on make-up. "That didn't last very long," the other girl commented with a smile.

"No."

"You sound shaken. I know the senshi's business is none of mine, but it you want to talk..."

"I'm just so confused. Nothing makes sense anymore. There's a new senshi. She and Pluto know what we're dealing with, but they're not really telling us what's going on. There's this guy that Solar knows and he's the one attacking us...she's so upset..." Amara stared up at Atia as she felt the girl put a hand on her shoulder.

Atia smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure they have a good reason for not telling you. Maybe Solar will get over whatever's bugging her." Did her smile waver, if only for a second? "Come on, cheer up. Want a soda or something?" she asked, maneuvering the other girl out of the bathroom.

"Sure," she replied quietly. Something about Atia made her feel relaxed, better.

Darien, Serena, Trista, Rini, and Michelle were still there. "Oh! What are you guys doing here?" Atia asked, cocking her head to one side slightly.

Seeing her, Trista looked surprised, then confident of something only she knew. "We were going out to eat and came to see if you wanted to come."

"Atia." Darien took a step forward and grabbed her wrist tightly.

"Darien?" Atia looked at him uncertainly and acted as though to step back.

"Are you on steroids?" Serena started to say something, and Trista's eyes blazed in anger, but Darien said quietly, "All of you. Stay out of this."

"Wh-what?" Her choked voice was barely a whisper.

"How-"

"Owch! Let me go!" Atia yelped, loosing feeling in her hand and interrupting him unintentionally. "Darien!" In response, he grabbed the sleeve of her white T-shirt and pulled it up. Her arm was red, as though it had been burned. She gave a half-whimper as the air touched it.

"What's this?"

"An accident from earlier!" She squirmed and jerked fit for a puppy about to get a shot, but she couldn't dislodge his tightening grip. "I swear!" The injury started to dribble blood, as the shirt had taken the forming scab with it.

"Accident from what?"

"It's- I....I didn't do it on purpose! And I'm not on steroids!" Atia shrieked as he carefully touched an edge of it, as though to make sure it were real. Her eyes widened, then flew shut at the pain of the gentle touch. Suddenly a fire blossomed on her arm, where the injury was. Her eyes opened again and stared at her arm, expecting to see flames. There was none. 

With every beat of her heart the pain spread throughout her arm, down her numbed hand, over her shoulder, and buckled into her side. Words being said to her ran together, thicker than molasses, and she couldn't hear. She gagged, unable to breathe, and felt trapped. Gasping, trying to draw air into her lungs, she watched the world take a dip before her. She wavered on her feet, and the hand connected to the clutched wrist grabbed Darien's own wrist for support. Her right knee started shaking, then buckled, just as Darien's other arm wrapped around her.

Then all she could hear was the beating of her heart. Black became her vision, but she could feel. Darien was holding her, Darien was there. She forced herself to concentrate on Darien. She felt her eyes blink and tried to picture him before her. But she couldn't. It was like something was eating at her memories, her every thought. She felt a hand on her face. With a deafening snap that hurt her ears, the pain began to ebb.

Shadows became figures, figures became shapes, shapes became people, and people became friends. Snatches of words began to make sense to her. She could breathe, she could see, she could hear. But her head hurt and she felt like she was forgetting something.

"Trista?" Her arm throbbed.

"Atia! Thank God," her friend murmured, looking immensely relieved. "What happened?"

"I don't know. It just...hurt." Atia looked down at her arm. The burn covered her arm from shoulder to elbow. "Hey...that's not...right." She felt light-headed and nauseous.

"Atia," Darien said calmly, "do you need to sit down?"

Atia was shaking. "I'm forgetting something. Something important." Her voice was raising with fright.

"Ssshhh. It's okay, you're alright now," Trista said gently, taking her friend's hand in her own. It was ice cold. "Don't worry." 

Darien gently lifted the girl. For all her apparent strength, she felt like a feather in his arms. Anorexic? Bulimic? Who knew. He sat her down on a table bench. She swung her legs around and put her face in her hands, body shaking uncontrollably. Blood wept down her arm.

She felt something cold press against her arm and glanced over to see Trista pressing an ice pack against it. Murmuring a soft word, Trista wrapped her other arm around Atia. The other girl gave a shaky sigh and leaned against her, put her head on her shoulder. She didn't flinch when she felt a prick on the side of her other arm. As her senses dulled, she felt the prick leave her arm and a hand shoved against it. Within moments Atia's shaking stopped, and the girl looked like she'd been given a shot of morphine, so calm was she.

"Trista!" Amara nearly shouted. "What did you do?!"

"Relax - it's only a sedative." Trista tucked the now-empty syringe back into her pocket. "It just dulls her senses."

"Why?" Rini whispered, almost frightened.

"She has a certain panic disorder. When something happens to her, like what just happened, it'll make her go into static shock and panic. She totally looses it and often hurts herself or others. The sedative prevents her from doing so." She paused. "I'm going to guess that's what happened - she got upset and burnt her arm."

"Trista, you know a lot about her," Michelle said evenly. "What other disorders does she have?"

Trista's eyes narrowed. "None." 

"No obsessive compulsive behavior, anorexia, bulimia, or drug use?" Darien took up on the teal-haired girl's lead.

The Guardian frowned, alarmed. "No. Atia would never do anything like that." Was it their imagination, or did her arm tighten more protectively around the girl? "She has no reason to."

"I believe you." They all stared at Serena in surprise. "Come on, you guys. Drug abusers are known to be violent. I've never seen her loose her temper. People with eating disorders purge, disappear after meals, and starve themselves. I've never seen her do anything like that. She's just sick and needs our help - and friendship."

*

Atia could hear muggy voices and knew they were talking about her. She was, however, more than content just to sit and lay in Trista's embrace. After nearly five minutes, her senses kicked back into gear. Minus a headache, she felt good. She sighed and sat up slowly. She closed her eyes and looked up. "Ugh, thanks a million. That is so much better."

"Anytime."

Atia sniffed. "You said we were going to go eat. I'm hungry. Let's eat. Please??"

Trista laughed and shot an I-told-you-so look at Michelle and Darien. "Alright, alright. Come on, pig."

"I'm notta pig," Atia pouted. "Just deprived of food."

Trista smirked. "Where do you want to go?"

"Um. I don't know." She looked at her arm again. "Somewhere where I can get a bandage first? This is ugly."


	19. Coming Out of Hiding

ï»¿ body Watching her, Atia was easily the best in the dance class. She had something the others did not - and Amara was guessing it was experience. Serena, beside her, was goggling. The sandy blonde couldn't help from smiling at Atia's obvious joy in dancing. She was smiling, always smiling, and making faces in movement with the dance. Parts of the dance made her look sludgy, but she didn't seem to mind. 

Suddenly she and one of the boys broke out in the kind of gymnastic moves you would see in the Olympics. At times it looked like they would crash into each other or the other dancers, but they never did. The music ended, and Atia did a back-tuck and landed in the boy's arms, and they sported the ending move.

"Okay!" the instructor clapped his hands once. "You all looked good. Ben, you're a half-second too slow on your layout, and Atia, you're a half-second too fast on the brandy. Five minute break." He walked out of the room.

Atia walked over them, making nagging faces of exasperation. "'You're too fast. You're too slow. Your movements aren't stiff enough.' Yadda, yadda, yadda."

"He only picks on you because you're good," Serena smiled.

Atia smiled. "Thanks."

Ben walked up to her with a yawn. "We had to've gone through that dance at least three times. I swear, girl, I'm going to drop you if he makes us do it again."

"You wouldn't do that to _me_, would you?" Atia crooned playfully, batting her eyelashes comically at him. "'Cause if you do I'm quite afraid I'll have to go a second too slow and kick your head in my back tuck."

He laughed and pulled her ponytail. "You're so nice, you know that?"

"Atia? Nice? Excuse me." Amara turned her head a coughed.

"I can tell when I'm not loved," Atia said dramatically, putting the back-side of her hand on her forehead and making a fake sob.

The rest of the break passed in much of the same manner. When the instructor came back in, he had them do two different dances and three different songs before he let them leave. Atia and Ben, however, stayed after for a moment, trying to get a part in the new dance right.

"No, left foot-"

"Hey, wrong way!

"Left!"

"No, that comes later!"

"That's my part!"

"Um, now what do we do?"

Silence.

"That's a good question."

When they were about done, Serena said, "I wish I could do that." When they were completely done, Atia beckoned at Serena. "Hm?"

"Come here." Serena obediently walked up to her. "Do this." She did a straddle jump, then stuck her right arm across her and heaved herself back so she did a complete body wave. Serena repeated it uncertainly but flawlessly. "Ha! I knew you could do that!"

Amara looked surprised. "Call the medics. I'm going to have a heart attack."

"Amaraaa!" Serena whined. Atia patted her on the head, getting her attention.

"Now do this." Taking her former stance, she crossed her left arm over her right, then pulled her right arm to her side and her left straight into the air, feet coming together. She stepped out on her left foot, then switched arm positions. She stepped out again and switched her arms back to their original positions, hopped in a circle twice, leaned to the left, stuck out her right foot, and put both hands on her outstretched knees and leaned on them.

"Aaahhh..." Slowly but surely Serena repeated it. "Hey. This is fun."

Atia smiled as though she'd won the lottery, then broke out in a goofy dance. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, Serena can dance, uh-huh!"

Ben laughed. "You're a site for the camera, you know that?"

"Bring it on," Atia smirked, then struck a silly pose. "Ima super model."

"You're a super freak," he laughed, grabbing her wrists as she lunged playfully at him.

*

Luna was waiting outside the door when Serena got home. The girl didn't see her as she rushed into the house. The cat frowned at the yellow sports car; it was Amara's. But the scent of lilacs and roses was strong.

Artemis came up beside her as the car pulled away. "Amara's in her company as well."

"It would seem that way." Luna's paws squeezed together - fists, if she were a human. "I could kill her. Rip her apart. If it weren't for her..." her voice trailed off in a growl.

"Let her fight Sebradon. If he doesn't kill her, then we can. She'll be too weak to fight back. We should probably finish off Pluto as well - she spells trouble with the other two," Artemis said in a deadly quiet tone.

"If Ocean and Sky come back, then what?" Luna frowned.

"We'll find a way to end them as well. It's not hard to kill someone these days."

Luna laughed hollowly. "That's true. So true."

*

Atia closed the door behind her, facing Trista with a smile. "She can still dance. I can't believe it." "Neither can I." They both chuckled, and Atia sat down on the couch. "How's your arm?"

"Throbbing, but okay. Why did it spread so badly when Darien touched it yesterday?" Atia sat down on a chair and unwound the bandage carefully. The burn looked second-degree.

"I think I've figured it out. When Darien touched you, the poison put into your arm by Sebradon's power reacted violently against his purity. It tried to strike at Darien, but you managed to keep it on your arm."

"I was nearly unconscious. How did I do that?"

"Look at yourself in the mirror, Atia. You're getting stronger. You have more control over your actions, even without your knowing."

Atia was silent for a moment. "It's funny. Before you touched me, I couldn't remember anything. Who I was, where I was. When you did, I remembered that much, but I couldn't remember the past. When I woke up from the sedative, I remembered." She sighed sharply and banged her fist on the table beside her, nearly splitting it. "Something bad is going to happen. Very bad."

*

The water that had been in Atia's mouth cannoned out of it and flew across the table. "What?!" she yelped, staring at Ben incredulously.

He was laughing. "How lady-like. Anyway, Mr. Keioni said we're having the actual recital in four weeks."

"But we just started learning that one dance two days ago, Ben! How can we have it right in four weeks?!" she groaned, banging her head on the table.

"Well, it'll help if you wouldn't give yourself a concussion," Raven, one of the other girls, laughed. "Come on, Atia, it's not that hard."

"Ooohh, God," came Atia's muffled groan, running her hands down her face in exasperation. "If your name is not Atia Tamuchi, it's not that hard. I've got, like, tons of things I need to do between now and then! College finals, work-out, my horse needs to be trained, I have to teach Serena the rest of that dance, and-" her next complaint was muffled by Ben's hand cupping her mouth.

"We get the idea, honey," he said with a smile.

"You do that we can't stop the show for anybody, even you," Naro said in his quiet manner.

"I know. I'll get over it, once I'm done complaining," Atia smiled.

"Girl, you _are_ a nut-case, you know?" Valen giggled, smiling at her classmate.

"What else is new?" Jeff grumbled.

"Ah, plug it," Raven said, poking him in the shoulder. "Lighten up on the girl, Jeff!"

"Yeah! Where would we be without our little sister, huh?" Enaio smiled, hugging Atia's shoulders playfully. They affectionately called her that as she was the youngest in the class, even if not the shortest. Atia giggled.

Ashani, Trever, and Lance came running into the room breathlessly. "Guys guys guys!" Ashani shrieked happily. "Guess what? Mr. Keioni said that people not in the Academy can be in the show too! And he said there's going to be talent scouts, news reporters, the whole she-bang!"

"Eeee! No way!" Raven squealed, clapping her hands.

"Way! Oh, this is going to be our big break!"

The academy's twice-annual recitals were something to behold. It was an all-day thing, and people from all over Japan, even the world, came to watch the best dancers perform. There was media coverage of every sort, and talent scouts were always in the plenty. It was not something to miss.

"Atia?" Ben asked quietly, waving his hand in front of his partner's stone face. The other eight looked at her and got uneasy feelings. While Atia was sweet, there were moments when her expression got colder than ice and burned like fire. This girl, their little sister, was as beautiful as she was an enigma. And she was very beautiful. 

"Uh?" Atia shook her head.

"You were doing it again!" Valen whined.

"Doing what?"

"That stone-cold face, the one you get when you're worried or something," Ben replied gently.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about my friend Trista."

"Oh, the one with green hair? You know, Atia, she's very good. She's cute, too," Lance said with a grin. "Maybe she should join."

"Nm." Atia looked away, putting an elbow on the table and cupping her chin in it. "She wouldn't. She doesn't like dancing routines with large groups. Makes her nervous. Maybe I could get her into an act with me. She'd dance with me."

The door flew open, and the ten teenagers looked up to see Mr. Keioni storm in, looking slightly flushed. "Tamuchi!" he shouted.

Ben saw his friend stiffen, then collapse into a state of calm coolness. She stood and quietly waited for Naro to move, which he did in a hurry. "Yes, Mr. Keioni?"

"You never told me you were helping with the primary class, Atia!" he fired angrily.

Atia rose an eyebrow. "What's the problem, Mr. Keioni? I've been able to handle both classes so far, haven't I?"

The man's dark blue eyes sparkled in rage. "You know as well as I do that this new dance is becoming a problem for you. If you cannot get it right by the end of this week, you're out."

Atia jerked back in alarm. "What?"

"You heard me, girl!"

"Today is Thursday!"

"You can't do that to her, Mr. Keioni! You know she's the best dancer we have!" Raven cried.

"Yaole will snatch her up in a heartbeat!" Trevor agreed.

"Silence now or you're all out!" the man bellowed.

Atia shook her head. "If I can do all of that dance right now without missing a single beat, without the music, this threat will never come up again for me or for the others. And I will be allowed to perform with any class I choose."

The instructor's eyes narrowed, then he smirked in contempt. "Deal." He stuck out his hand, and Atia shook it with a raised eyebrow. "And if you can't, you're out."

As she walked by the shorter man, she knocked him sharply in the shoulder with her own. She stood in the starting position, then looked up at Ben. "Start me off?"

"Ready, three, two, one, four, three, two, one..." his voice trailed off as she signaled an okay around her graceful movements.

It was as if she'd dance this dance a thousand times before, so calm was she. Her eyes closed, and it was like nothing they'd ever seen before. She moved flawlessly and on clouds, her feet never misguiding her. As she moved, she sang softly, lost in her own world.

Suddenly they all recognized the end of the dance, but she kept going, doing something totally different. It looked as though it fit into the dance, as though what they had learned was not all that there was. When she stopped, all jaws were on the ground. She smiled sweetly at the man who had been so angry before. As sarcastic as it was, it was very pretty. "There. All of the dance."

"I...I...you..." Atia stared at him innocently, batting the-dubbed legal eyelashes at him. "You're in," he finally managed. "Where did you learn that?" 

"When you dance, Mr. Keioni, it shouldn't be some routine that you get paid for. You should dance because you feel the rhythm, let it move you, because you're happy. When I was dancing just then, I did what felt right, what felt good." Her eyes regarded him with slight disgust. 

Mr. Keioni was silent for a moment, studying her with awe still in his eyes. Finally he clapped his hands once, thinking. "Okay. I'm going to go back to the board meeting. Stay put, gang." With that, he turned and jogged out of the room.

Atia fingered him when his back was turned.

Ashani was scowling. "Show off."

"You're just jealous that she'll get a contract and you won't," Enaio snapped. "I don't want a contract," Atia said quietly.

"Are you crazy?" Raven squeaked, staring at her incredulously. "You could really hit it off, Atia! I mean, you're pretty, smart, a great dancer, a fantastic singer, sweet, and you have a great personality! You're a perfect idol!"

Atia smiled vaguely. "Thanks. But I'm not perfect, Raven. The idea..." she gazed out the window, "just doesn't appeal to me."

"You have a bad memory of something related, don't you?" Naro asked.

"Mm." Atia looked away, then gazed at the long stretch of floor behind her. Without a word she launched into a standing back handspring, then preformed routine moves down the length of the floor. When she stopped, feet hitting the floor hard, she looked at Naro. "Yes."

*

"It's over, Trista." Atia almost slammed the door behind her and threw her bag down.

"What's over?" she asked in alarm.

"Hiding my not-scout identity from the Guardian cats. The academy is having a recital in four weeks. Artemis, Luna, and Diana will be there to watch Rini." Atia rubbed her temples. "We need to do something together. As a tribute."

"I agree." Trista stood up and walked over to her. "How many acts can we do?"

"Five's the limit."

"Five it is."


	20. The Dance Recital

ï»¿ body "I'm scared. There's so many people out there," Rini whispered, grabbing Atia's hand as she peered around the curtain. 

Atia gave her friend's smaller hand a gentle squeeze. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Rini. Just pretend they're not there."

"Easy for you to say," the girl replied shakily. Atia did notice she was shaking. "You've done this hundreds of times before."

"Everyone starts out somewhere," Atia reminded her. "And besides, I'll be there with you." Rini said nothing, only leaned against her.

"Atia! Come on, kiddo, let's get," Valen said, coming up behind her and poking her shoulder.

"Coming, Val. Rini, Trista'll be here soon; until then, Autumn'll be here with you." Atia let go of her hand and followed Valen's light blue hair onto the stage.

"Good luck, Atia!" Rini and Autumn called. The older girl looked over her shoulder and winked.

_Here goes_, Atia thought, walking in front of Ben and turning around, crossing her arms in the opening move.

Ben glanced over at his shoulder and her and winked. Atia smiled, glad for reassurance. She glanced around her, eyes resting on the pipelines that would soon be spitting out a pyro. Suddenly she heard Lance yelp, "Atia, Ben, the pyro's screwed up! Look! If you guys do that one front tuck on this dance, you'll go right through it and fry yourselves!"

"We can't stop the recital," the girl replied uneasily. "And I can't change the dance."

"You've got to be kidding me! Atia, you can't go through that pyro any more than I can!" Ben said warningly.

As they heard the academy's manager speaking, Atia closed her eyes. "We don't have a choice, Ben. And it's just sparks, not real fire. We'll be fine."

*

The curtains rose, and Atia sighed in frustration. This was it; she was hidden from Luna and Artemis no longer. She heard the music and moved automatically, watching her classmates before her. She whirled around and knew what Rini had meant by a large crowd. But she was used to larger.

She smiled reflexively. This was where she belonged. The stage was her home. With that, her dismay of Luna and Artemis vanished, and she loosened up. Her movements weren't stiff and jerky as they had been seconds ago; now she flowed with the music.

The music hit a chord, and she closed her eyes briefly. The next thing Atia knew, her hands hit the ground sharply as she started the routine that would throw both her and Ben through the pyro. She thought as she wove her way backwards.

The pyro pipelines crossed around the front of the stage, leaving five feet of extra space. Her class was supposed to be a safe distance behind that pipeline and in front of another one in the back, not to mention the two on the side. She and Ben would be pausing just before the pipeline the in front to do their tucks, and apparently, as Lance had calculated, go through the pyro and land on the other side while the others were closed from view. _Not bad for a close-up_, she thought wryly.

As she stopped thinking, Atia found herself with her back to her classmates and facing the pipeline, hands coming up to throw herself forward. She saw Enaio, Lance, and Trever glance at her out of the corner of her eye, frantically trying to make her stop with expressions. But she ignored them as her hands whistled past her ears, jammed back to her sides, as her feet left the ground.

She elongated herself to clear the pipeline and was almost across it, eyes resting on the audience as her back was over the pipeline. And then she heard the pipeline surge, then felt the sparks fly into her back, propelling her faster to her feet than she had planned. The sailor managed to land on her feet in a crouching position, pain dancing down her back in waves.

But the dance wasn't over yet.

She did a side-aerial and found herself side-by-side with Ben. Now they were stuck in front of the pipeline. Glancing up at him, she saw him noticing it as well. "Skip the back handsprings and spin out, then in," she hissed furiously, hoping he'd heard her in the speed of the words.

As she whirled around, she saw Ben doing the same, then turned back in and did a back tuck, landing carefully in his arms. It was over.

The applause made the pyro worth the effort. Shaking, Ben set her down, and they bowed a couple times before jumping back over the pipeline and going offstage with the rest of the class.

Once off-stage, Atia dropped with Ben to her knees. Her back was killing her, and there was still countless hours ahead of her.

*

Luna and Artemis knew something as wrong the moment they stepped into the building. A familiar prescience was wafting, and it made their backs puff. When the curtain opened, they were furious. They couldn't do anything because they knew the senshi didn't know, but there was no mistaking her unnatural skills.

"Damn."

*

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, are you guys okay??" Raven cried, kneeling between them.

"I think so." Ben peeled his shirt off over his back, wincing as the air touched it. It was mostly burns, not bleeding sores, but it still hurt. "Dang. Atia, are you alright?"

She was silent for a moment, quivering a little. "I'll be fine."

A hand on her shoulder made her look up. "Atia, get up. I'll help you."

Atia grabbed Trista's hand and let her friend pull her to her feet. "I'll be out in a minute, guys."

*

"You weren't supposed to do that, were you?" Trista asked evenly. "No. I need to get changed. Hand me that black top," Atia said, pulling her shirt over her head as Trista handed her a new one. Atia's back to her, Trista stared at the scores of burns on her back and felt sorry for the boy. "He'll be fine." Atia tugged impatiently at the black leather, finally getting it over her head as she tossed her shoes off and ducked behind a screen, digging through piles of clothes before emerging in a pair of low-cut pants that weren't really pants at all.

There were like bell-bottoms, only see-through. She wore a black bloomer (ask a cheerleader) beneath the criss-crossed fabric. The rest of it was like extremely wide-cut black panty-hose.

Atia sank wearily to the ground, trying to catch her breath. She looked up at Trista and smiled. "Isn't it ironic?" Trista rose an eyebrow. "I taught all the senshi in the Silver Millennium, now here I am, teaching the princess of the twenty-first century." 

In the blink of an eye, Trista was on her knees before Atia and hugging her tightly. "Please, don't say that. You're not in the twenty-first century. You're not in Crystal Tokyo. Something's going to happen to you, Atia."

"I know." Atia closed her eyes briefly. "I know."

*

Ben took her arm when she walked out of the dressing room and turned her around. She didn't protest as he swept her hair off of her back. He shook his head. "They moved the pipelines."

"Too late," Atia muttered.

"Agreed. Here, this stuff is supposed to help." Ben picked up a jar of gel-like stuff that Jeff had brought to him. The medication had hurt so bad he'd shouted and jumped the entire time. As his hand touched Atia's back with the gel, he felt her stiffen and heard her inhale sharply. "I'm sorry."

Atia said nothing, and Trista walked up to her. The girl relaxed, grabbed her friend's hand for reassurance. As the gel touched one of the worse burns, Atia's grip on Trista's hand tightened, but she said nothing.

Finally Ben put the jar down, and Atia sighed in relief. "Thank you." She reached over and grabbed a white blouse, pulling it over her black halter top, then slinging a pair of pull-off jeans around her waist.

"Advanced intermediate, you're up!" the stage-hand called, walking over to the group.

"Good luck," Trista said with a smile.

"Thanks."

*

Atia could see the pyro lines had been moved and glanced at Raven with a smile. The black-haired girl had been truly frightened by her feat. She smiled back. "No more pyro jumping?"

"No more pyro jumping."

The curtain lifted, and Atia walked out from behind the stage, holding her microphone loosely. "I need...time. Love. Joy. I need...space. Love. I need...me."

"Action!!" Trever shouted, and the group came to life.

"Say hello to the girl that I am. You're gonna have to see through my perspective. I need to make mistakes just to learn who I am. An' I don't wanna be so damn protected. There must be another way 'cause I believe takin' chances but who am I to say? what a girl is to do God I need some answers..." as the chorus came in, she whipped off the blouse but left on her jeans. Out of the five girls, she was the only one who could be persuaded to do the act and actually dance half-naked in front of such a large crowd - despite the fact that the cameras loved it.

Halfway through the song, she lost the jeans as well. She could see the cameras zooming on her and smiled. She loved cameras.

*

Three performances later, Atia was all but dragging Rini onto the stage. "Rini, if I can go out there and strip to something that resembles my bikini, you can certainly come out here with me and dance and sing."

Rini was almost crying.

"Small Lady, it's okay. You'll love it," Trista coaxed. "I was frightened at first too." She wasn't in this act but was trying to level with the girl.

Ashani walked by, her younger dance partner with her. "Nice selection, Atia."

"Shut up, Ashani. Just because she's better than you doesn't mean she can't be afraid," Atia snapped.

"Who are you to judge who's better than who?!"

"I'm the best dancer in this academy! I believe I can tell who's good and who totally sucks!"

"If I totally suck, then why am I in the advanced class?!"

"Because you bribed Mr. Keioni," Atia said simply.

"Why-"

"Girls! Girls, come on, now's not the time for this!" Ben and Jeff both came up to intercept the fight. Jeff pulled Ashani onto the stage while Ben grabbed Atia's shoulder. "Not now, Atia, please?"

Atia shot a glare over her shoulder. "She started it."

"She probably did, but if the manager comes back here and finds you two fighting, you're as good as dead. I gotta go; some primary kid cut himself on a hanger." He rolled his eyes as Atia laughed. "Break a leg, kiddo." Ben ruffled Rini's hair, then turned and jogged back the way he had come.

Atia leaned down so she was eye to eye with the girl, whose eyes had turned to hearts. "Isn't he cute?"

"Yeah..."

"He's my dance partner, you know."

"What?!" Rini was loosened up now, and Atia quickly got her lined up with the stage without her knowing. Suddenly the music kicked on, and Rini yelped in surprise as Atia did front handsprings out onto the stage. Hearing the part where she came in, Rini found herself doing back walk-overs onto the stage.

The music paused, and Rini turned to face the audience. Her mouth went dry as Atia's voice came over the PA - "Three, two, one, hit it!" The girl's red eyes found the senshi, and she felt increasingly nervous at the sight of the two glaring felines. Then she looked at Darien, and he smiled reassuringly. She smiled back a little, then hesitantly moved along in the dance. 

She closed her eyes. She could imagine the crowd gone and swung full out into her moves. It felt good. A part came where she had to look, and she opened her eyes regretfully. To her surprise, she no longer felt so afraid. She smiled a camera that zoned in on her, then worked her way to the center of the stage.

The music squealed to a halt again, and this time Rini shot a preppy, almost disgusted, look at the girl beside her. "Honey, you're just not gonna cut the bill." With that, she started a short rap session, occasionally harmonized by Atia. _Maybe this isn't so hard after all_.

*

Luna would've paled if she were a human. Seeing Atia and Trista on the same stage made her head swim with memories. She remembered this dance. It was one of the last ones they had preformed before the destruction of the Silver Millennium. It seemed incomplete to her, however, without the other three to back them up. Their voices seemed logged with sorrow and loneliness, though nobody else seemed to notice.

There was a low whistle from Lita. "I never knew Trista could sing like that. She's amazing."

"She and Atia work so well together. Whatever dance training Atia's had, Trista's had it too, look. They're so much better than everyone else," Amy agreed quietly.

"Their voices are beautiful together," Raye whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

"I never knew Trista was so outgoing," Mina murmured. "I mean, look at her. She seems so happy up there, like she's done this before."

Darien nodded with a smile. "It's like Atia's arrival totally changed her. I must admit, it's nice to see her happy for once." Mina agreed quietly.

Amara rubbed her eyes. Was her mind playing tricks on her? She'd seen them dancing somewhere before. A gentle hand touched her shoulder, and she looked at Michelle. Her cousin's eyes were full of nervousness, verifying that she sensed it too. This was just too weird.

*

The mouthful of cola that was in Raye's mouth threatened to loose all over the chair in front of her as Serena and Atia walked onto the stage. "OhmyGod!"

"She never said she was actually in the program!" Mina agreed with a freaked out expression.

Luna's eyes narrowed. This would be interesting.

*

"Not nervous, are you?" Atia teased as they waited for the stage to clear.

"No, just excited. I never told the others that I was in the dance. This is going to be fun, I just know it is!" Serena replied excitedly.

Atia laughed. "It sure is. Come on, let's go."

The sight of the crowd didn't even faze the girl. She smiled widely, feeling almost at home. She counted the beats in the measure, saw Atia move out of the corner of her eye, then moved herself, then paused. The lights flared off, then back on, and she began moving.

The shiny black spandex pants that they wore almost made it hard to dance. But Serena was used to them now and had grown to like the way they moved with her. She could hardly remember the last time she had had so much fun. When she glanced up at Atia during one part of the dance, the girl's eyes were closed, but she was smiling. Her joy was as obvious as Serena's was, and she was not afraid to exaggerate her moves.

Serena got a little nervous as she turned to face Atia, who gave a slight nod and an encouraging smile. The blonde took a deep breath, bent her knees, and did a standing backhand-spring back-tuck. When her feet hit the ground for the final time, she turned to look at the cameras and winked, then blew kisses and exited the stage with Atia.

*

It was the last song of the night. When the curtains rose for the final time, there was no one there. The music started, and there was a sudden explosion of smoke and light as the advanced intermediate class came out for the final act, Atia leading the way and holding a microphone. Despite the fact she'd been singing and dancing for countless hours, she wore a smile and a peppy attitude that none could deny her.

"Remember me   
Remember me 

"Find myself all alone  
In darkness without you  
Now I can't turn away  
From what I must do  
You know I'd give my life for you  
More than words can say  
I've shown you how to love someone  
I know you'll find a way..." Her astoundingly strong voice never faltered as she sang the song. It was obvious she was singing from her heart, and the words were full of meaning.

Chorus:  
"Say goodbye  
Close your eyes  
Remember me  
Walk away  
The sun remains  
Remember me

"I'll live on somewhere in your heart  
You must believe  
Remember me

"No way I can change my mind  
I don't have the answers  
If you could see through my eyes  
You'd let go of your fears  
And though I have to leave you now  
With the thought of each other  
I'll miss your touch  
You call my name  
I am with you forever..."

Chorus

"With the change we can't explain  
Remember me

"I'll live on somewhere in your heart  
You must believe  
Remember me

"You know I'd give my life for you  
More than words can say  
I showed you how to love someone  
I know you'll find a way..."

Chorus

"Be there to watch over you  
Remember me  
Feel I'm gone  
My heart lives on  
Remember me

"Don't you think of this as the end  
I'll come into your dreams  
Remember me

"Close your eyes......  
Say goodbye.........  
Remember me  
Say you will(3x)

"Close your eyes  
Remember me  
Say you will(3x)

"Say goodbye  
Remember me!"

After the initial applauding and cheering, Atia and Ben flounced back onto the stage. "Hey everyone!" Atia called happily, waving.

"Well, this wraps up the night. We thank you all for coming and hope you had a good night. If anyone needs to speak with any one of the dancers or singers here tonight, we're all backstage," Ben said, smiling.

"Thanks for being such a great audience! Love ya!"

"Good-night, Tokyo!" they both shouted over the screaming audience.

Atia and Ben turned off their microphones and began talking, still on-stage. Ben said something that made Atia start. Then she started dancing around in particularly goofy manner, right hand behind her head and her left on her left knee. She stood only on her right foot. The dancer brought her right elbow and left knee towards each other, then parted them and turned in a 90? circle with her eyes crossed. She continued to do so while Ben laughed and cameras flashed. Within seconds, though, he had joined her.

Laughing, they stopped and began dancing around goofily, some of which included Ben doing the robot and Atia doing a country line-dance. After around fifteen minutes or so, the ebony curtains closed with a swoosh, hiding the guffawing partners from sight.

It was then that full meaning of the song hit the senshi. Something, something dark, was yet to happen.

And not a one was looking forward to it.


	21. Shocking Reunion

"Atia!" Trista grabbed her friend's arm the moment the giggling girl left the stage, eyes brimming with tears. 

Her twinkling eyes lost their sparkle. "I know. It was a warning. Whether they realized it or not." Her eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Tris. I didn't mean to scare to you."

They regarded each other silently then. Trista finally broke a smile and hugged her. "Come on. There's a lot of those people who want interviews with you."

*

Atia found herself bogged with offers, but she used her infinite patience to calmly turn them all down, as did Trista. She was mentally kicking herself. If she accepted some of the offers being thrown at her, she'd be rich. What she didn't mind doing was radio, television, and newspaper interviews and photos. 

When she finally caught up Serena much later that night, the girl was smiling ecstatically and seemed fit to burst. When inquired, she hugged Atia and said simply, "I got a contract."

*

A month later, with many enemy attacks in-between that revealed nothing new, nothing had happened - minus Serena's new dancing career.

One day, Trista came with Atia to Rini's dance class. The class let out, and they stayed after. Rini watched Atia and Trista dance with awe. They were so good. When they had finished, she went to say something, but before she could say anything, Autumn flew into the room from her own class, looking absolutely petrified. 

She launched herself on Atia and began shrieking in an incomprehensible language. Atia looked at Trista, who knelt and grabbed Rini, then put the girl with Autumn behind them. Autumn was crying and blubbering on, but Atia made no move to quiet her, only murmured softly. Autumn screamed and fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Rini sat down beside her and hugged her.

"Pluto Planet Power, Make-Up!!"

"Solar System Power, Make-Up!!"

There were two blinding flashes of light, and two sailor senshi were standing before Rini and a hysterical Autumn. There was a third flash, and a figure of Atia appeared beside Solar. The sailor snapped her fingers, and the hologram fell to the ground without a sound.

The enemy suddenly appeared in the doorway. Pluto stared at Solar with sudden tears in her eyes. "You said you blocked the signals."

"I did."

"Then...how..." Pluto's voice broke.

"It's not her."

The figure at the door sauntered into the room, staring at them innocently. She held her hands out, as though to show she were harmless. "You don't remember me, sister?"

There was a crash, and the window beside the door shattered. The rest of the senshi had arrived - along with three uninvited guests. Solar swore. Pluto couldn't tear her eyes off of the enemy woman, and her hand was covering her mouth as silent tears coursed down her cheeks.

"You went against your word, Pluto!" Luna shouted.

"Now there will be total devastation for sure!" Artemis echoed.

"Shut up, both of you!" Solar shrieked. "It's not her! It's not Lia! She's a fake! Lia is dead!"

"Ah, you don't know that, do you?" the woman crooned, brushing ankle-length orange hair behind her shoulder. "You're underestimating my master's powers. He has the key to bring her back. He has the power to bring her back as a dark form, how she should've been." At Solar's horrified look, the woman giggled. "Would you like to see your sister again, princess? Would you? Well, here she is!"

There was an explosion that sent all the senshi flying. When it died, a new sailor scout stood beside the woman with orange hair - only, now, her hair was blonde. The senshi had wings coming out of her back, much like Eternal Sailor Moon someday would - but these wings were black, as was much of her mid-riff showing fuku. Her head snapped up, and her eyes were glowing red.

"Lia!" Solar's chilling cry echoed around the silence in the building. She walked towards the still sailor. The new one's eyes moved, watching the taller senshi's every move. Her lips pulled back in a sneer, revealing vampire-like teeth, and the woman with hair like flame hissed.

The enemy blonde giggled. "She's happy to see you, too. She wants to bring you with her. She's lonely." Watching Solar, she didn't see Pluto's silent charge. With a muffled yelp of surprise, the Time Key slammed into the blonde's head, and she crumpled to the ground.

The new sailor shrieked like a banshee and jumped backwards, as though released from a spell. Words floated through the air in a voice so cold the senshi were frozen. _I've waited over a thousand years for this, sister._ The sailor smiled darkly, her lips never once parting to form the words. _Where are our cousins, that they may play too?_

"They're gone. I thought they were with you." Solar's voice nearly caught.

The glowing red eyes seemed to dim, but then flared back to life. _Ah, well. Three's a company, five's a crowd. Let's try something, Solar._ The pupil-less red eyes locked onto Solar's. _Let's pretend we're on Saturn. Let's pretend we've just become senshi and we're practicing. _A glaive rose over the sailor's head, and she brought it through the air to rest it at Solar's chest. _And let's pretend we're not friends._

Solar threw herself to the ground just as the glaive shot through the air. The sailor hissed, lunged at her with incredible speed. Eyes wide, Solar rolled away and stood, shaking. "Lia!" The girl lunged at her again. "Lia, stop it!"

"She's not human," Sailor Moon whispered, horrified. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Sailor Saturn." Pluto watched the onslaught helplessly. "She's the queen of Saturn."

"She's dead!" Luna snapped. "If you two hadn't gone against your word-"

"I never gave you my word on anything! She severed the links between them and us so they cannot hear us and we cannot hear them! Sailor Moon, get rid of this enemy...please..." Pluto's voice trailed off, and she turned at a shriek.

Solar staggered away from the other sailor, blood racing from a puncture wound along her waist. The new sailor's voice laughed. _You're not fighting me at all. I'll kill you in a heartbeat._

"No!" As the senshi watched, Saturn's arm flew forward and slammed into Solar's shoulder. The other was thrown to the ground. The building shook unnaturally. "Lia?" Saturn knelt next to her sister, glaive poised above her throat. Solar made no effort to move and looked almost happy. "I thought I'd never see you again."

The woman blinked, and for a moment, the red eyes completely vanished. "Don't-" _What are you doing?!_ Sailor Saturn reeled backwards.

"Lia?" Solar flew up, looking startled.

The sailor floundered on the floor. The glowing eyes vanished again. "Solar-" An unearthly scream rant the air, and the glowing resumed.

"Lia, calm down. Look around you. I raised your daughter for you. The prince and princess are safe. Pluto's here with me. Our cousins are not dead, only need to be found. Their daughters are right behind me." Solar fought her voice to calmness.

Saturn was heaving for breath. Her eyes were half-red and half-seeing, and the great black wings were a lighter shade. "Can't...breathe..." she choked out, then faltered back into Sailor Saturn.

"Solar!" Pluto cried. "If you turn her back, she'll die! She's an angel, not a human! Don't you remember the lore?? Angels can't breathe oxygen!"

_Kill me again, sister - I dare you._

*

"Mommy, what's going on??" Diana whimpered, watching Saturn stumble to her feet. Blood was racing out of the woman's mouth, and she looked dazed.

"It's hard to explain, Diana," Luna said stiffly.

"Why do I feel like I know that voice? Not Saturn, but, you know, the other one?" Mars pondered. "That woman even looks familiar."

"I know what you mean," Jupiter agreed.

"Because you know her like you know Solar. A shadow on your memories - and nothing more," Artemis replied firmly. "And, at the moment, she's not a woman. She's a demon with an angel trapped inside of her."

"Will Solar have to kill her?" Uranus was oddly quiet.

"I don't know. I don't know if she's strong enough." Luna's tail flicked in agitated apprehension. "Love is her only weakness, and she loves her twin almost more than life itself."

"They're twins?!" Venus gasped. "They don't look a thing alike!"

"Their facial features are similar, if you can get them side by side." Artemis was clearly not happy at having to explain all this.

*

The red eyes of the demon senshi were not glowing as strongly as they had before. Weakened visibly, the woman was having trouble lifting her glaive. Solar took a step towards her, and Saturn snarled, then hissed again, and backed away with some difficulty.

Solar shook her head and held her hands in front of her, palms up. She closed her eyes as her hands began to glow with a pale silver light.

Seeing her opponent distracted, Saturn advanced on her, lifted her glaive. Swung it in an arc right towards Solar's neck.

"Lia! Stop!" Pluto cried, running towards the demon. The demon looked at her.

That fast, a pair of transparent and pale hands sprung out from demon and grabbed the staff part of the glaive, stopping its advance. The demon literally squawked, and a pale figure slid out from it. She was nearly identical to the demon, only even more beautiful and without a taint of darkness about her. There was a glowing band of gold above her head, and her wings were the color of ivory. After a moment's skirmish, the new figure had the glaive away from the demon. The demon shrieked and apparently lost the ability to speak.

"Now I'll get rid of you once and for all." The pale figure stabbed the glaive into the heart of the demon, who was to startled to move. The demon screamed and vanished in a roar of flame. The new woman was blasted back and fell with a yelp into Solar, who hadn't moved. She seemed to dissolve into the sailor, and a ghostly silver glow surrounded her. There was no sign of the glaive.

"Solar?" a faint voice asked, sounding confused. "Um..." Solar's eyes flew open, and she whirled around, as though to face someone. A head, shoulders, and arms of the newest version of Sailor Saturn appeared on Solar's shoulder. "Hi." She smiled and waved.

"AIE!!" Solar stared at her, shocked. "I didn't expect it to work! What happened?!"

"I fell." The mist shrugged and further materialized to show a form woven around Solar. "I missed you." She hugged her.

"I missed you too."

Pluto walked up to them, and Lia beamed in delight, reaching over and hugging her. "Pluto!! Missed you sooo much!"

"And I you." The Guardian chuckled and touched the fog on the shoulder. Surprisingly, her hand held.

"All of three of you, stop playing around!" Artemis shouted, bounding up to them. "Lia, every moment you're here, you're jeopardizing everything! You have to go back."

The angel's eyes narrowed. "I'm glad to see you too, Artemis. Need I remind you that I'm dead? I'm a ghost, dammit, and the prophecy clearly states that I have to be alive for the cataclysm to occur!" Amazingly, crystal tears welled in her eyes. 

Artemis was clearly stunned. "How'd you know?"

"I know everything." Lia completely disappeared, then reappeared clinging onto Solar. "I'm always here. I'm always with them. I've never truly left."

"I want to know why we can't be together! For the sake of the prince and princess, I have not gone looking for Ocean and Sky, but by God, I'm this close to doing it!" Solar shouted.

"Oh...my God...the prophecies..." Sailor Moon whispered, looking horrified. "If all five of you come together, a terrible cataclysm will occur."

"You knew?" Luna asked in surprise.

"Not until now. We've been reading proverbs at school. It makes sense now," Mercury admitted.

Solar sighed in frustration. "Artemis, answer my question!"

"All five of you were supposed to have been killed in that Battle. Since you weren't, the rivers of destiny have been altered. They're twisted and intertwined in a way they're not supposed to be. When the five streams that represent all of you come together, they will explode," Artemis said with forced calm.

"Maybe we ought to let them find Ocean and Sky. Then we won't have to worry about this mess," Luna snarled.

"Luna!" Sailor Moon shrieked, whirling on her. "How could you say that?!"

"Very easily." The hate the feline saw towards the three senshi was so obvious.

Lia clung to Solar and looked likely never to let go. Solar grabbed Pluto's arm but showed no indifference to the cats' hate. "You'll get your wish soon enough. When he comes for the final showdown, I'll be the one to stand between him and the others. I'll kill him and he'll kill me in turn. Then you won't have to worry about me."

"You'd never do such a thing. You're a selfish, stuck-up princess! You stood by when your brother and sisters were slaughtered before your eyes just so one of the two of you would could gain the throne!" Artemis shouted.

Flame shot up around Solar for a split second. "You don't understand. Demetrie and Giallia told us not to interfere!" Lia cried, looking totally shaken. "They loved us and didn't want us to get hurt!"

"You'd say that, wouldn't you?" Luna asked her evenly, glaring hatefully. "Just so you could become queen!"

Lia shrieked as though physically struck.

Solar shouted angrily and shot a blast at the two cats, who jumped out of the way and appeared as humans in flashes of light. "Don't you dare insult her! Not after everything she's done!" she shouted, staring at them with more hate than the two combined could muster up. Sensing trouble, Lia jumped onto Pluto and hid behind her.

"Stop fighting! Luna, Artemis, they aren't the enemies!" Sailor Moon pleaded, looking close to tears.

"They may as well be!" Artemis said heatedly.

"If you fight them, if you hurt them, you'll bring Ocean and Sky back!" Neptune yelled, shaking. "I don't know who they are or where they are, but I know they love those three like they love them! If somehow, someway, they feel their pain, they'll come back. And everything will be ruined."

"She's right. Ocean and Sky know our powers and yours. And you know Ocean will kill both of you." Solar stared at them with a hint of triumph in her eyes.

"Please stop fighting," the blonde leader whispered, shaking her head. "You're not supposed to fight."

"They're not supposed to be alive." Artemis threw a ball of energy at Pluto, who skittered to one side.

"Leave her alone!" Artemis suddenly froze, and Solar's attack hit him square on.

"Solar, wait! Don't hurt them! It's a part of his plan, he wants to turn you all against each other!" Lia shook her head, and Pluto touched her shoulder. "Don't give into what he wants! Don't let him win! Please, I know it's hard, but don't fight them."

Solar regarded the moon guardians coldly. "Are you sure?"

"Have I ever lied to you before?"

The woman sighed and was silent for a moment. "I won't fight them. But only because it would be helping him."

"Good." Lia's form was growing fainter and fainter. "I have to go."

"You can't go!" Pluto stared at her in dismay. "Don't leave, Lia."

"I have no choice." She looked tired. "I'm not supposed to be here." She sighed.

"No." Solar stared at her and turned to one side to face them. "No." She ran over to Pluto and her sister, and the silver mist that was Lia wove in-between both of them. "You can't leave."

"But I've never really left you." Lia hugged Pluto, and the Guardian hugged her. She didn't look very thrilled about the thought of her friend leaving. Tears welled in her eyes, then slid down Solar's face. Lia turned to her, hugged her tightly. "Don't cry. Don't be discouraged. He only wants you to get weaker. But you have to get stronger. You have to beat him. Solar, don't let him win."

"It's...hard..."

"I know it is. But Pluto's here and so are the other senshi. They'll help you." She leaned over her sister's shoulder and whispered something.

"But I want you here too! I'm sorry, Lia, I'm sorry!" She was sobbing now and fell to her knees. Lia fell with her. "It's all my fault!"

"Yes, it is," Lia murmured softly, the tone of one who didn't want to injure but had no choice. "But you can make it right again."

"It'll never be right! Everyone's dead because of me! You're dead because of me! The Silver Millennium is gone, Lia, and nothing I will ever be able to do will bring it back!"

"That's true, but it doesn't mean the future is a lost cause as well. They can have an empire better than the Silver Millennium, if you protect them. The little princess, for example."

"Oh my God..." Solar could say nothing more as Lia appeared to fade. The fading glow lost all shape and turned into a mist, floating over to Pluto and wrapping around her, then shot skyward - and was gone. "Lia!!" Pluto visibly paled and sat down, shaking. She appeared to be at a loss for words as she pulled her knees up to her chin and cried.

Diana looked over to a corner and yelped. "Princess Rini! When did you- who-"

The senshi all looked over at a startled Rini and a depressed Autumn. A hologram of Atia suddenly disappeared. "Rini! How..."

Luna and Artemis stared at Autumn with looks of surprised hate. They hadn't noticed her prescience before; they had a feeling Atia had been hiding it. Since the last time they had seen her she was hardly a week old, they most certainly didn't recognize her appearance. "Who are you?" Luna asked, but she had a sinking feeling in her gut.

"There's no hiding anything from you two, is there?" Autumn spat. "You know perfectly well who I am."

And just like that, the senshi understood.


	22. Prisoner of War

"How did you survive?" Luna didn't care for Autumn any more than she did the other two. 

"Solar came back and rescued me." Autumn stood up and stared the cat squarely in her red eyes. "I don't care for the way you're talking about her and Pluto, Luna. And I really don't care for the way you treated my mother."

"Your mother is dead."

"Oh, and yours isn't?" Autumn said sarcastically, crossing her arms. "I'm my mother's power and my father's attitude. Don't mess with me - you won't win." Luna clamped her jaw shut.

"You're just a child!" Artemis growled, recovering from his blow. "How dare you threaten us!"

"Was I talking to you? I don't think so. I'm not a child - I'm one thousand-seventeen years old." "Then why do you have a girl's body?" Artemis taunted.

"Have you ever asked Rini that question?" Autumn returned evenly. That shut Artemis up right quick.

"She sure shut them up in a hurry," Uranus muttered. "She's almost like a princess."

Autumn stared at the two moon guardians coldly. "I'll have no more of this, hear?"

*

Tuxedo Mask surprised them all by detransforming. Sailor Moon did the same, and Serena walked over to Pluto. Darien strode over to Solar and knelt down in front of her. She gave a low groan and sniffed around her sobs. "Solar?"

"Prince...I..."

He gently took her hands and moved them away from her face. "Don't cry, Atia."

She didn't even look surprised. The thing she could not do was stare him in the face. She kept her gaze on the ground. Darien released his hold on one of her hands and gently lifted her chin so her liquid eyes stared into his. He heard her stifle a whimper, as though she feared a hard word. Her whole body was shaking, and she was breathing fairly hard. Half-caught cries staggered her breathing and made squeaking sounds when she inhaled.

"Isn't this what he wants? To make you cry?" Darien asked gently. Solar could only stare at him with a forlorn look that made his heart ache. "You can't let him win, can you?"

"N-no." She blinked, sending another cascade of tears flowing down her pretty face.

"Then there you go." He smiled. She managed a small grin. But he could see she was forcing it and was in no mood to smile. Darien took his thumbs and gently wiped her tears away, then cupped her face in his hands. "You can't let him win."

Solar gave a shuddering sigh. "It's...h-hard..."

Darien shook his head a little. "You're strong and powerful. You can do it. I have faith in you, Atia." Unbidden tears fled her eyes once again. "If he's destroyed everything for you, why are you unwilling to fight him?" he asked gently.

"B-because I l-love hi-him!" Solar choked out, looking away from him again. "I love him."

"How could you possibly love someone that's so evil?" Uranus asked, frowning.

"He didn't used to b-be this way. B-Beryl took him a-away from me and tricked him. I'm the protector of the sol-solar system, so when I felt his presence, I was so happy he w-was back, I...I didn't pay attention to Beryl's...she got...right by m-me..." Her voice trailed off, and it was becoming more of an effort not to burst out sobbing.

"Even I can verify they were very much in love," Artemis said begrudgingly. "They were like you and the princess. They were engaged. None of us believed her when she started screaming about him bringing in the Negaverse."

"She warned you?" Jupiter frowned.

"It was during a banquet; I can't recall now what it was for. But I remember her just vanishing and being gone for about fifteen minutes. Then she came in calling the guards to arms, shouting battle orders. The guards, of course, believed her and summoned out the army. In the confusion, I guess no one really noticed that she had been injured and was crying, but it didn't seem to affect her." Artemis shook his head.

"At any rate, she was too late. The Negaverse came pounding in the doors and opened fire. Between her, Trista, Lia, Ocean, and Sky, the hall was clear in a matter of minutes. But it didn't do much good - Amara, Michelle, and countless others were already dead," Luna continued.

"Wait, wait. Before you go any further, I want to know who Ocean and Sky are. It's bugging the crap out of me," Neptune interrupted. "You're always talking about them, but now I want to know who they are."

"You don't remember them - at all?" Even Luna looked surprised. 

The two cousins shook their heads no. "All I know is that they're Solar's cousins."

The four with answers were silent, unwilling to answer the questions. Autumn took the matter into her own hands. "Ocean was queen of Neptune and Sky was queen of Uranus. Neptune, Ocean was your mother. Uranus, Sky was yours."

"What?! That's absurd! That means- you're- she's-" Uranus stammered.

"It's not absurd. Solar and I are your cousins," Autumn replied calmly.

"Then why can't I remember her?" Neptune obviously didn't believe the tale.

"F-for the same rea-reason you don't remember me," Solar stammered.

"I want to hear the rest of the story," Venus objected, putting an end to the debate. "Artemis?"

"There's not much to tell. I'm not sure what happened after that - I guess they went out to the Moon battling field to try and stop what they could. I don't know; Luna and I stayed with Queen Serenity."

"We did just that." Solar's voice was wobbling, but she didn't stammer anymore. "And we fought until we were nearly dead. The moon palace began to fall, so I ran up to it. I thought the others were behind me - but they weren't. Serenity was dying, didn't see the falling column. I did. It fell on me instead of her." Her voice got tight as though she could still feel the pain. "She helped me; told me she was sending them to future. That she was sending Lia and not Autumn because Lia was already a trained senshi. Princess Serenity would be in-between them all, surrounded and protected. She let me guard them to the Earth. And then...he generated a meteor. I didn't see it, I was dying. I don't know how, but Lia got the princess out of the line of fire. The meteor hit and killed her on the spot. I waited until the others were on earth, then went back to Saturn and got Autumn. I took her home...and I don't remember anything else." She shuddered.

"If you all are such important figures in our past, why won't you let us remember you?" Mercury inquired.

"Serenity wanted you to forget about us. That's why Pluto's existence was forbidden to be known."

"But why?"

Solar could only shake her head.

Darien took one of her hands and stared at it. There was a lump on one of her fingers, her index. He took off her glove, revealing a ring. The sailor was too curbed to command to pull her hand away, but she sure looked tempted to. It was an amethyst heart set in a gold band with sapphires, rubies, diamonds, and obsidians decorated the area around it. He knew what it was but said nothing - he didn't need to.

*

He stared through the crystal, shaking his head. "Damned fool." And yet, hadn't he once loved her? For the briefest instant, his dark hazel eyes lightened, but then the darkness clouded them over again. "Now's the time to strike. She's not prepared."

*

Solar had the modesty to turn a light shade of pink and pull her glove back on. She stiffened suddenly, froze where she knelt. Abruptly, the sailor threw herself onto Darien, shoving him to the ground. Pluto was doing the same to Serena. There was a nearly deafening roar as a tremendous ball of fire shot over them and blasted out the wall.

"What's going on?!" Luna shouted, looking around frantically for the source of the attack.

Solar said nothing as she went flying to one side, then was hauled to her feet by some unseen force. A man suddenly materialized behind her, muscular arm wrapped firmly around her neck in a chokehold. She screamed suddenly as a flash of light hid her from view. When the light vanished, the senshi found themselves staring at the princess of Saturn.

Her black dress had a slit up the side, and the sleeves went over her hands. They had two loops on them that went over her middle fingers. She had a § symbol on her forehead, dark purple, like the half-moon crescents the princess and queen of the moon had. A black choker with an amethyst stone in it lay around her neck, barely seen by the man's arm. The only white article she wore was a half-inch thick piece of white leather than encircled her head. Where Atia's hair met her face, the leather was replaced by two roses of thin, golden necklace-like chain links. Her symbol was lay in-between the chains. Rainbow-colored crystal beads ran along the leather and were placed periodically through her hair. The contraption took the place of a crown.

"Let her go!" Pluto pleaded with the man, standing and stepping in front of Serena.

"Stop it, Se, please," Atia whispered, closing her eyes and not even struggling.

The man's eyes lightened, and the dark mar on his forehead turned a lighter of shade of black. That quickly, the light vanished. "It'll take more than pretty words to stop me," he said firmly.

"Why are you doing this?" Tears welled in her eyes as she opened them. "Why?"

"You and rest of the solar system rulers betrayed me. I thought I'd repay you the favor."

"We never betrayed you. We all grieved when you left."

"Then why didn't you stop me in the Battle?" Anger warred in his tone.

"I couldn't find you. I looked everywhere for you." Atia almost looked content, even though his arm was continuing to tighten around her neck.

The man was silent for a moment. "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"No. I'm afraid _for_ you. Sebradon, if you don't stop now, you'll kill yourself. You'll destroy everything and everyone. All the people you know and love will be gone."

"I don't love anyone."

"Yes, you do. You love the prince and princess just like I do."

"That's enough!" He closed his eyes and shook his head. She went silent. "I came here to kill you and the others. And that's exactly what I plan to do." His arm glowed, and Atia's eyes widened. It flared in blue flame, but there was no heat. That blue flame suddenly exploded onto the princess.

Although it obviously pained her, she didn't flinch or scream. She wasn't going to let him take pleasure in her pain. The dammed up tears trickled down her face, and she made no effort to stop them.

Autumn frowned and looked over at Pluto. There was nothing the Guardian could do, and she knew it. The younger girl chewed on her lip, and a staff-like object glittered into existence in her hand. She could've easily slit the layers of place and let Atia's wolves get the man, but she didn't interfere. Not yet.

Atia's knees buckled, but Sebradon was still holding her, so she didn't fall. Her whole body went slack. The blue flames stopped. Neither man nor senshi noticed her still-open eyes. Once the flame stopped, a huge blast of black power exploded on the man, and he shouted in alarm. But he didn't let her go.

There was no expression on her face, no regret, no sorrow, no pain. No indication of the pain that surely racked her heart.

A giant explosion surrounded the man, and he stumbled backwards, releasing Atia. She staggered forwards, coughing and spitting blood from her mouth. She turned and watched him as the explosion melted away.

He was the picture of astonished pain. He stared at her incredulously.

"If there's one thing you don't do, don't underestimate me," Atia whispered, wiping a new trail of blood from her mouth.

Suddenly Serena was surrounded by a pale silver glow, then vanished, reappearing in Sebradon's grip. "Nor you me." Unlike with her, a sword appeared over the girl's chest. Serena yelped in surprise.

Atia cried out, took a step forward. The sword lowered an inch closer to her heart. "Sebradon, stop! Now you've gone too far!"

Autumn struck viciously to her left, and there was a ripping sound. Black bled through a rip where the crystal shard on her staff had pierced the air. Before Sebradon could react, two huge wolves bounded through the rip and tackled him to the ground. Serena shrieked as she was thrown into Atia, and they both went flying to the ground. 

The two wolves covered the man, then went sliding backwards as he blasted them. Atia held Serena as the girl clung onto her, scared out of her wits. Sebradon glared daggers at Autumn, trying to recognize her. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and anxiety. "You. You are...you have..." He stretched an arm out towards her, and his hand glowed brilliantly. Before he could aim, a familiar object struck him in the back of the head, and he fell forward.

"Lia!" Atia shrieked. "You said-"

"I didn't know I'd feel better after a moment," Lia replied helplessly. Her glaive glowed, then vanished. She stared at Autumn with a soft smile. "_Autahna_."

Autumn's mind reeled. Wasn't that the word for 'Autumn' in the language of Saturn? It was. She hadn't had time to react the first time. But now she did. "Mother?"

And then she found herself in a desperate chokehold. She shrieked mightily, kicking at him. "Lemme go! You killed my mother, you killed the prince and princesses, you killed my family, you ruined my home, you destroyed my kingdom, you totally screwed up the Silver Millennium, and you broke my aunt's heart! Let me tell you, bucko, you ain't gonna destroy me!!" Surprised, Sebradon let Autumn go, and the girl whirled around in a miniature storm of hate to face him. "Why I oughta-"

Lia stared at the girl in amazement. "I'm proud to announce," Pluto said, sidling up to her, "that she's just like you."

"Hey!" Lia squealed. Suddenly she blanched before diving onto Pluto and giving a hack. "I forgot...I couldn't breathe!"

"That's something nice to forget," Pluto mocked. She was smiling.

Sebradon got over his initial shock and frowned at the girl. "You've got gall, child, I'll give you that much." Before anyone could blink he blasted her back.

"_Autahna_!!" Lia jumped off of Pluto and tackled Sebradon. To everyone's surprise, the angel's angry onslaught brought the man to the ground. Within seconds, though, Sebradon had everything under control again. He wrestled the woman to her feet and pinned her arms behind her back expertly.

"Temper, temper, Lia," he scolded quietly. "Just like your sister. Tales of your tempers have spread far and wide. Why, even today I am asked, 'Have you ever heard of the twin princess of a faraway place? Their wrath is so...' and then they give me one of your stories, one that I already know, because I was there." He paused and tightened the grip on Lia's arms. "You know, I thought I'd killed you the first time, but now I see that I've been mistaken." An orange diamond glittered into existence and dangled before Lia's eyes. "This is the jewel that brought you here. If I destroy it, you will no longer be able to return to Earth. It might even completely destroy you. But we don't know that, do we?"

"Lia! Sebradon, no!" Atia cried. "Do what you will with me, but leave her be! Please!"

"Atia- gah!" Lia's plead was cut off as Sebradon dragged a sword across her neck, not cutting it but something else. She'd been breathing off of his oxygen - any breathing thing she touched she could draw air from. He had just cut that ability. She coughed and gagged, trying to breathe.

"NO!" Atia raced up to her sister, putting her hands on her sister's shoulders and trying to re-establish Lia's ability. But she could not. The powers of the other side were beyond her limits. "Lia..."

"Are you sure, Atia?" Sebradon asked evenly. "Anything?"

"No..." Lia whispered, loosing the strength to cough.

"Anything! Just let her go!" Lia suddenly stumbled into Atia's arms as the enemy let her go, but Atia knew she could do nothing. Just to hold her, to know she was there, was enough. Pluto was at Atia's side instantly.

Sebradon smiled wickedly. He raised the sword and jumped, bringing it down sharply on Atia's arm. The woman cried out in surprise, her grip on Lia faltering. Pluto caught her immediately and moved the motionless angel away from harm. The man didn't seem to care and struck again at Atia, who tried to move. "Move again, my love, and I'll make sure all these senshi die, right here - right now."

"Sebradon- ah!" She flinched as the sword struck her right calf, then in the same movement buried itself shallowly into her side. Atia bowed her head. But that wasn't enough for the enemy. He raised the sword and cleaved Atia's left side deeply from the top of her dress to her hip. Atia inhaled sharply, but he wasn't done yet. Bringing his arm back, he thrust the sword deeply into her chest as a remarkable rate. It went far enough to protrude from her back. Atia screamed then, a heartfelt scream of despair.

Serbradon reached forward and caught her as she fell. Blood ran down her in raging rivers. The orange crystal appeared in front of him as picked Atia up. They vanished in a roar of flame. The moment he left, a huge crack shattered down the crystal.

"Lia!" Pluto shrieked, feeling her friend convulse. He'd lied to them. Suddenly the crystal exploded. Lia, suffocating and nearly dead again, screamed, a mirror echo of Atia's. In a brilliant flash of light, the angel of Saturn disappeared. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no....this can't be happening..."

"Oh, but it is. Beware, Pluto. You're next." Sebradon's chilling voice riveted around the room.

With a wail, Pluto collapsed to her knees. Burying her face in her hands, she exploded into sobs.


	23. Seperated

The giant golden wolf stood up, shaking. _This is bad. Very bad_, a voice whimpered. It was female and seemed to echo from the wolf. 

"SunChaser? ThunderClaw?" Rini whispered, amazed.

The black's ears perked as he nudged Autumn. _Dream Princess?_ He cocked his head to one side, staring at her. He picked up Autumn's staff and trotted over to Rini. _Here. I don't have hands. Call Atlanta and Teraina. They'll help._

"I don't know how," Rini murmured, staring up at him. He was at least as big as a horse.

_Just cut the air and call to them_, the gold one called.

"Alright..." Rini struck the staff to one side, and black seeped through a jagged cut. A white unicorn and what appeared to be an elf jumped through the portal.

_SunChaser, ThunderClaw! What happened?! Where is she?!_ the unicorn nearly shouted, snorting and trotting over to Autumn.

"He took her." Darien found his voice.

_Who took her??_ the unicorn demanded as her horn glowed, healing the brunette girl.

"Sebradon. Or, at least, that's what she kept calling him," Rini replied, appearing stunned.

"Atlanta? Teraina?" Autumn sat up, sounding and looking dazed. "How'd you get here?"

"Oh, here." Rini handed the staff to her. "ThunderClaw told me to call them." Autumn took the staff silently, looking near tears.

_Sebradon._ The mare's ears pinned against her poll. _Well, where'd he take her?_

"I don't know." Rini shrugged. "They just...vanished."

The elf-like creature shrieked and jumped away from a huge pool of blood on the floor. "He hurt her." She backed away from it. "How badly?"

"He just kept...hitting her...with a sword," Serena forced herself to speak. "Like he was...driving her into...submission."

"And she let him?" Serena could only nod.

_There was nothing we could do, Atlanta. He was too strong_, SunChaser sighed, pacing. _We can't follow him - he's too powerful. Besides, there's no trace of him or the lady._

_It's like they've disappeared off the face of the earth_, ThunderClaw agreed, looking around. _What is this odd place?_

"It was a dance studio," Autumn said bitterly, but her rage was not directed at the wolf. "Why did she let him hit her like that?!"

"She didn't want him to hurt Serena." Pluto's voice almost cracked with dismay. "He could've killed any of us with a single thought. The question is, why didn't he? Why didn't he kill us when he had the chance?"

_It's a question better left unanswered. Guardian, he won't kill her. If he were, he would have done so just now or back in the Silver Millennium_, the gold wolf said gently, walking over to her.

"He said we betrayed him. We never did such a thing," Luna objected.

"She said Beryl tricked him. Maybe that had something to do it," Mercury said uncertainly.

Pluto stared at the ground where Sebradon had been standing. Tears blurred her vision, but she clearly saw something. "S-SunChaser, bring that to me." She pointed weakly at it. The wolf trotted to it, picked it up in her jaws, then went back to Pluto and lowered it into a shaking had. She held it up. It appeared to be a broken crystal shard. But she knew what it was. "Oh, good Lord..." she closed her eyes and lowered her clenched hand.

"What is it?" The elf wandered over to her. "And what's wrong?"

Pluto was gripping the crystal so hard the sharp edges punctured her hand. Blood ran between her fingers. "He's taken her out of this galaxy. He's taken her to a place called _J'an'tidae_ - but we call it the Negaverse."

*

Atia opened her eyes too quickly and was almost sick. The abundant sheets around her were soft and fluffy, the pillow beneath her head deep and full. Her head throbbed none the less, and her body ached as though a rock had fallen on her. She lifted her arm, where he'd first struck her - but there was nothing there. Funny; she didn't remember healing it.

"Ah. You're awake." Atia whirled over and saw Sebradon laying beside her. Her eyes widened. "Don't worry, I haven't touched you."

"What do you want with me?" she whispered. Odd; her aches were subsiding, and she felt powerful, like she had during the Silver Millennium.

"I've been thinking, and I decided that I'd rather have you as my queen instead of an enemy." His eyes stared into hers. "You don't have to make a decision right away. I'll give you a month. See how you like it here."

_A month?!_ "What if I say no?"

"You'll go back to earth, and then I'll resume to the killing."

Atia felt herself blanch. "If I say yes?"

"You'll stay here with me - forever. But I will stop the attacks on the senshi and let them be." He smiled sweetly, assuming her knew her decision.

But she had chosen the other. She would stay the duration of the month, if only to spend time with him and learn about his powers. "I'll wait out the month."

He smiled again. "Think hard." Then he leaned over the small distance between them and kissed her. "Of course," he whispered, "I'll do everything in my power to convince you to stay here."

Atia's eyes widened as he kissed her again. He moved closer to her and ran his hand through her hair, kissing her. She gradually began to kiss him back, getting over her initial shock. She could pretend, couldn't she?

His hand found the tie to her dress, and she froze, pulling back a little. "Come on," he murmured. "It's just me. We've done this before."

She was tempted to say 'once' but decided against it. His fingers were warm on her back, and she shuddered. A little voice in her head kept repeating her decision, and she clung to it as the night wore on.

*

Trista cried out, and Diana woke instantly. She began to purr and rubbed her cheek against Trista's chin before settling in the crook of her arm and chest. The kitten gently put a paw on the Guardian's arm, and within moments she felt a hand on her fur. With a soft murmur of nonsense, Trista fell asleep again.

"Diana?" Rini crept quietly into the room and knelt beside the bed. "Are you awake?"

"Yes."

"Is she okay?"

"She's thrashing, but it seems to calm her down when she has something to come back to. Atia's absence is hurting her so badly. Maybe you ought to bring one of those wolves back and let them be with her. After all, I'm so little...I can only comfort her so much."

"She likes you, Diana. And I'm sure you're a big help." Rini stared at her older friend sadly. She missed Atia too. Most of the senshi did. But it was weird because, though she'd been with them for nearly six months, they had suddenly realized that they didn't really know her at all. And now it was doubtful that she'd ever come back. "Goodnight, Diana."

"Good night, princess."

*

_There's too much fog. She can't see. She can feel a familiar presence, then another. Before long, four quickly become recognizable. Four silver strands, like spider's thread, flow off into the fog. Two are closer together, and the others are far apart. She looks down and sees a thread coming from a shining object around her neck - a locket._

One of the threads shudders and is drawn taunt. She is forced to move and shifts into a dead-run. She can see and hear nothing beyond her own breathing. It's almost as if she's running on air, or even place, for she could feel nothing beneath her feet. The threads move with her, the other three not affected by her moving.

Suddenly the fog parts, and she sees her friend. But her image is cloudy and vague. The thread is connected to a locket around her neck as well. The other looks up and sees her. Her lips move in a silent plea, but she can only shake her head. She can't hear her. She reaches out her hand, and the other tries desperately to grab it. Centimeters before they would've joined, an arm protrudes from the black and drags her friend away.

There is a faint snap, and the silver thread falls to the ground. She nearly screams, it hurts so badly. She can barely hear the echo of three other cries, all familiar, all feeling the same pain. "Lia, Ocean, Sky!"

"Trista!" a child-like cry echoes back towards her. "Trista, where are you?"

"Sky!" She staggers into a run in the direction of the two close-together threads.

The mist parts and reveals a blonde woman around the same age as herself. "Trista!"

Suddenly another figure steps into view. She has hair so teal it is black and expressive blue eyes. "Trista?"

"Ocean, Sky!" She runs up to them and they to her. She half expects them to be dragged away too, but they aren't, and they all embrace. "I thought I'd never see you two again!"

Sky clings to her. "We can't come back. The Queen told us not to return to earth until we had felt the pain of a thousand wars echo in our hearts." She sniffs and sounds ready to cry. "I want to come back!"

"We both do," Ocean whispers. "What's going on, Trista? Where's Atia?"

"Atia was kidnapped and taken to the J'an'tidae. She's being held there against her will."

"Our link was cut! Something's really wrong here!" Sky blurts, then begins to cry.

"Who's doing this??" Ocean asks, strong features trying not to give way to sorrow.

Trista looks down at the fog. "He is. I don't dare say his name - I'm afraid he can hear every word I'm saying."

Suddenly a ghostly figure that resembles the fog around them takes form. "You must all be quiet, he'll find us!" she hisses urgently. Wild fear illuminates her orange eyes. But she is too late.

The foggy area turns pitch black, and a wind starts up, so strong that they were forced to their knees. Thunder roars around them, though there is no lightning and no rain. There are three brutal snaps, and the pain is so great that she nearly passes out. Yet, she does not immediately and hears Ocean's strong voice over the raging winds.

"We'll be together someday!"

Pain swallows her whole.

*

Diana awoke to the moonlight shining in her eyes and something dripping onto her fur. She glanced behind her at Trista and saw blood trickling out of the senshi's mouth. Her hands were clenched, and she was pale, even in the silver wash of the moon.

The gray kitten quickly got up and raced out the room, down the hall, to where Rini, Autumn, Serena, Darien, Amara, Michelle, and her parents slept. She didn't want to wake all of them, but she had to get someone.

"Prince, prince wake up!" she said quietly, shaking his shoulder. "Oh, come on, please..."

Darien's eyes opened groggily. "Diana?"

"Prince, please hurry! Something's wrong with Trista," she hissed urgently, patting his hand with her paw to keep him awake. He was instantly awake and slid silently down the hall. She hurried to Serena. "Princess, wake up!" She nipped the girl sharply in the wrist.

"Huhhh??" Serena's sleepy blue eyes eyed her tiredly. "What is it, kitten?"

"Something isn't right with Trista, you have to go!" She slapped Serena's arm sharply as the girl stumbled to her feet.

Suddenly the whole house shook, and an unfamiliar voice said, "We'll be together someday."

Luna was on her feet instantly, in feline form. "That was Ocean."

Trista screamed.

*

Darien watched helplessly as Trista coughed violently, struggling to sit up as though she were trapped in a tight enclosure. So much was happening at once, it was making his head spin. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, trying to steady her.

Within seconds, her coughing stilled, and she seemed to wake up. He lay her down. "Trista? Are you okay?"

"It hurts. Hurts so much..."

"What hurts?"

"My head. My heart. He cut our links..." She covered her face with her hands. "I can't reach them! He's hiding Atia from me! From all of us!"

"Trista, calm down," he said gently. "Who's us?"

"Me, Sky, Ocean, Lia, and Atia...we were connected...but now..." Her voice trailed off silently. "He hurt them like he hurt me. If Ocean and Sky get separated, they'll be killed."

Artemis jumped up on her bed. "Trista, we heard Ocean."

Trista groaned. "Artemis, I know you can't stand them or me, but please, hope that they're alive. If they're killed, if he kills them-" She was talking so fast her words became one long blur.

"Trista, snap out of it!" Autumn grabbed her wrists and tightened her grip on them, jerked her arms to get her attention. "Listen to me! He has Atia and that's all he wants! She tried to contact you against his will. Your four were punished as a result. He's trying to get her away from us, totally seclude her." She looked totally distraught. "He's trying to make her his own."


	24. Alone

Atia woke and found herself stark naked in an alarmingly comfortable bed. A soft breath tickled her neck in a gentle rhythm, and a strong arm held her close. She closed her eyes when the memories of the night caught up with her. And then she had the most despairing feeling in the world - she was completely alone. 

During the night she had tried to flee her immediate mind and contact them, but he had followed her. He had taken her back, then made her watch as he cut all of their links.

She was utterly alone.

The thought brought tears to her eyes, and she wept silently.

As she did, she felt a weak pulse of a thread in her heart. _Someone hadn't been cut_. As she tried to make contact with her, she recognized Ocean. She smiled a smile of genuine happiness. She opened her heart, and the thread soared back to life. She had underestimated him the first time, but she wouldn't again. She would let Ocean come to _her_.

Exhausted, she fell back to sleep.

*

Even with Amara sleeping on the floor beside her, Diana curled up in her arms, the giant wolves as a golden retriever and a black lab laying on her legs, and Rini on the other side of her, Trista could not go back to sleep. The tears wouldn't stop coming, her heart wouldn't stop hurting. Though many times she thought she had no more tears to cry, the loneliness she felt always made them return. She had no energy left to sob and no longer bothered to wipe her sore eyes. She sniffed, stifling a whine of despair.

The golden retriever that was SunChaser shifted, lifting her head. _Still you cry, my friend. You should sleep. It's almost time for the sun to come up._

"I cannot."

The dog silently crawled up to lay on the other side of Trista. _He's not going to harm her. Lady Autumn was correct in that._

"I'm not afraid of that."

SunChaser set her chin on the woman's shoulder, then shuddered as she felt Trista's pain. _You're lonely. It hurts you, doesn't it?_

"More than you could ever imagine. I've never felt this alone, not even while I guarded the Time Gates. I could always feel them with me. Now...there's nothing. I don't know how we became connected like that, and I don't know how to connect us again," she whispered.

_Ocean said you'd all be together someday._

"It'll never be the same. It never can be. It won't be in the future. I've been to the future, and not one of them is there. Something bad is going to happen, SunChaser. What if Atia never comes back? What if Ocean and Sky can't get home?"

_Don't think like that. You have to believe in your heart that someday it will happen._

*

Michelle laid awake, staring at the ceiling. She could not shake the voice from her head. She knew that voice better than she had known the twin's. It confused her. She rolled over to her side and watched the prince and princess sleeping. At least they were safe. Her eyes closed.

*

_"Michelle?"_

She starts. She cannot see anything. "Who are you? Where are you?"

The woman that the voice belongs to doesn't seem to hear her. "Michelle, you have to tell Trista that I haven't lost Atia." As she spoke, her voice grew blurry and seemed to echo as though she is disappearing. "Daughter..."

*

Someone was shaking her awake. Michelle flew up, staring at a sleepy-eyed at Amara. "...wake up." Seeing her awake, she said, "You kept hitting me, so I figured I'd wake you up so I could sleep."

"Sorry," she apologized quietly.

"Something's bothering you, Michelle."

"Amara...I think that woman _was_ my mother."

-*-

"What am I supposed to do here all day?" Atia asked, watching him get up.

"There's a closet over there - I think there's some things there you can wear. I really don't mind what you do - keep in mind, if you try to contact them again, I _will_ kill them." With that, he pulled out a suit suitable for a ruler.

"Where are we? What are you here?" Atia inquired, confused.

"We're in the main capitol of the...Negaverse, as you now call it. I'm the emperor here, and for the time being, you're my empress. But watch your back, love - not everyone here likes the idea of a Silver princess in the castle, none the less as ruler." Sebradon turned and faced her, suited up. "Well, what do you think?"

Atia smiled. "Very nice. You've certainly made a cozy place for yourself here."

"Ah, yes. Well, I've had quite awhile to do so." He pulled his sword out and examined it, polished a few rubies on its hilt. "I must go now, but I'll see you at dinner. Oh, before I forget. Outside the door are five maidens that will be as your personal hand-servants as long as you are here." He winked and strode out, closing the door behind him.

"Hmph." Atia got up and picked her black dress off of the ground, then held it up and stared at it. Pretty as it was, she couldn't wear if for a month. She walked over to the closet and gasped. They looked just like her dresses from the Silver Millennium! She flew through them until she found her favorite - the one she'd worn at Lia's wedding. She hugged it tight, then poked her head around another door. A bathroom. "A shower never hurt a person," she muttered, hopping in and gingerly laying the dress over a rack.

Once washed and smelling of lilacs, she put the dress on and sighed. She could remember that day as though it were yesterday. "Hell, I never thought I'd wear it again," she whispered, pulling on a pair of black heels. She walked back through the room and had her hand on the door when a thought made her pause. There was a pale flash of light, and a staff roared into being. It had a shining black and silver rod with a silently burning ball of orange flame at the top of it. The flame didn't touch the staff, and an invisible clear globe surrounded it. A pair of silver wings protruded on the uppermost part of the staff, and ancient inscriptions covered it. She opened the door - and found herself face-to-face with her servants from the past. 

"Princess!" one of them cried, falling to her knees in a bow. The others followed her lead.

"What are you five doing here??" she whispered, almost afraid.

"He captured us and brought us here," another answered.

"We never expected him to bring you here," a third said.

"He's not the brightest, giving me my old onterauge," Atia smiled. "Come on, girls. I'm afraid you'll have to show me around."

The five girls showed their mistress around, pointing out different things and laughing, as though they were back on Saturn and not in the Negaverse. When they got to the kitchen, she poked her head around. "Girls, who are these people?" she asked, leaning back around. "Why do they look different?"

"They are the castle slaves, m'lady," Niatra replied. She was bold with a blunt attitude. "Lord Sebradon captured from a nearby planet called Opao. They're quiet in nature and not very resistant. That's why he captured them."

"Do they speak our language?"

"I don't think so, princess."

"Ah. Well, I'm starved. Do I just...go in there?" she asked uncertainly.

The second, Kal, giggled and gently pushed the princess into the room. "It's just like home, princess. I think he planned it that way."

Atia laughed as they followed her in. The sound made most of the dark-skinned people to look up at her. She smiled and held her right hand palm-side up. "Hello." Only, it wasn't in her language - it was in the Opaos'. "My name is Atia. I'm supposed to be Sebradon's bride - but don't worry. I'm not like him and I apologize for anything rash he's done. He...hasn't always been like this." Her smile momentarily faltered.

"Welcome, princess," a middle-aged woman said, grinning a little. The others smiled greetings, then went back to their tasks. "I'm afraid you've caught us at a bad time; we're preparing for a feast, apparently in your honor."

"Me?" Atia looked taken aback. "Oh." She made a little face of amusement. "What's your name?"

The woman smiled. "I am called Fala."

"Princess!" the first girl tugged on Atia's arm. "What are you doing??"

"I'm talking," Atia replied easily. "I know how to speak many languages." She turned back to Fala. "Tell me honestly. How does he treat you?"

The dark-skinned female before her hesitated. "He works us, but he provides shelter and food for us. The field workers, they're not so luckily. They get beat a lot. We get treated better than a lot of the others."

"Hm. I guess I better get what I came for before I get you into trouble. Um, do you have any food lounging around? Nothing special - I'm famished."

"Of course, m'lady." Fala led her to a bench and had some beef, meat, cheese, and wine laid out for her. "I'm sorry, princess, but I must return to work now." She made a bow, then hurried the other way.

Atia wolfed down the food in a matter not very dignified for her status, then drowned the cup of wine in a single gulp. "Oops..hic!...damn hiccups!" she muttered, putting a hand over her mouth. "Now what...hic...do we...hic...do?"

"First, we get rid of your hiccups," Kal said with a gentle smirk of fondness. "Then we'll see."

Even with her friends the maids, Atia felt strangely alone in this new world.


	25. Voices of Angels

It was a school day, but Darien and Autumn stayed with Trista and managed to make Rini and Serena go to school. Autumn disappeared after awhile, and Trista told Darien that she'd gone back to Atia's home to straighten things out. The two wolves stayed with them. 

"This all just happened so fast," Darien said out of the blue. "I mean, one moment she's here, and the next..."

"She's gone." Trista stroked the black wolf, staring at the floor. "I never thought...well, I mean, I knew, but it's just so hard to believe he'd actually do this."

"That is pretty low, even for a guy I barely remember," Darien agreed, stretching out on his back and staring through a solar panel on her roof. "I miss her so much. She told me about how she watched me in the Silver Millennium."

Trista gave a faint smile, as though the memory made the pain lessen. "She always told me that she wouldn't have traded the world for the time she spent with you. Which, if you think about it, is a good thing."

Darien chuckled, then was silent for a moment. "She really loves us, doesn't she?"

"Oh, Darien, you just don't know how much. She'd fight to the death for any of you and would rather die than say a bad word in any of your names. One time Amy was sick, and Atia likely went berserk taking care of her, even though it meant leaving her home during a family crisis."

He smiled. "Luna and Artemis said something about an older brother and sisters. May I ask why they don't exist?"

"Tatanya was born first, therefore making her heir. When her mother died, her father remarried. They had a boy and named him Demetrie; then the king caught a disease and died. Her mother chose a new husband; they had a girl and named her Giallia. Then the queen died, and the king elected a new queen. They had the twins."

"So, what happened to them?" Darien inquired.

"We were around...seventeen....in earth years. There was an uproar in the court because of treason by some trusted advisors. Tatanya and Giallia were killed in the first onslaught, caught unawares. Demetrie died to protect the twins."

"How did they choose between Atia and Lia?"

"Atia would've been queen, but she has the mark of the solar system and not of Saturn. They chose Lia instead. Atia never really wanted to be a ruler, anyway, so it all worked out in the end."

"That doesn't resemble the happy life I remember."

"The Silver Millennium occurred mostly for the moon and for Earth - we outer planets were dealt an equal share of bad and good luck throughout that time." Trista scratched ThunderClaw's ear, and he wagged his tail happily. "Although sometimes there was more bad than good."

"What of this singing thing Luna and Artemis are always talking about?" Darien rolled over onto his stomach and regarded her thoughtfully. "You've never told us you could sing."

Trista flushed a little. "It's a gift the five of us have. Nobody can explain it, but when we sing, we can give each other strength and power both. It's...the most wonderful thing." She sighed. "I miss it." They were silent for a moment. Suddenly, Trista perked up. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Darien asked, ready to frown.

"Never mind. Without our links, it may not work." The woman flopped back against the couch. "And I have no real reason to, either."

"Reason for what?"

"I thought, maybe if I sang, I could find Ocean and Sky. Atia's lost to me - Sebradon would kill her. Lia..." her voice trailed off, faltered, for a moment. "But I have no real reason to contact them. I mean, I'm alive, so they must be alive too. It would just be so nice to see them again," she replied wistfully.

Darien stared at SunChaser, who was lying across the heat vent. "If you saw them, would it repair your links? If you sang, would it? Something made your bond happen, Trista. If it can happen once, it can happen again."

_But if you bring them here, won't it bring some great disaster?_ ThunderClaw rose his head and regarded them curiously.

"I don't think I could bring them here. If I could just...see them, that would be enough." Her eyes came to rest over a large full-length body mirror in the corner of the room. "That would be perfect." She got up and walked over to it, angling it a little and wiping the dust off of it. She stared at her reflection, then at her prince's and the wolves' behind her. She sighed and shook her head. "What if I can't reach them?"

_If you believe you can, SunChaser said quietly, then you can do it._

Trista stared at the mirror as though that alone would bring the two women into existence before her. She closed her eyes and touched a dark green locket on her neck, then opened it. Music filtered out of it. "Ocean. Sky. If you can hear me, please answer me." She seemed to be counting, then opened her eyes. Nothing seemed to be happening, but by the time she'd finished that song, there were outlines in the mirror, shadows that nothing in the room had thrown. Trista put her hands on the glass, never missing a beat as she started a new song. 

"Another night slowly closes in   
And I feel so lonely  
Torchin' heat breathing on my skin  
I pretend you still hold me  
I'm going crazy, I'm loosing sleep  
I'm in too far, I'm in too deep  
Over you  
I can't believe you're gone  
You were the first you'll be the last.

Wherever you go, I'll be with you  
Whatever you want, I'll give it to you  
Whenever you need someone to lay your heart and head upon,  
Remember after the fire, after all the rain,  
I will be the flame...  
I will be the flame.

Watchin' shadows move across the wall  
Feels so frightening..." Suddenly Darien could've sworn he heard two more voices singing with hers alternatively. The shadows were filling out, and he could see two familiar women standing on the other side.

"I wanna run to you, I wanna call  
But I've been hit by lightening  
Just can't stand the thought of falling apart  
Can't see through the spell across my heart  
Over you  
You'll always be the one  
You were the first you'll be the last

Wherever you go, I'll be with you  
Whatever you want, I'll give it to you  
Whenever you need someone to lay your heart and head upon,  
Remember after the fire, after all the rain,  
I will be the flame...  
I will be the flame.

I'm going crazy, I'm loosing sleep  
I'm in too far, I'm in too deep  
Over you  
You'll always be the one  
You were the first you'll be the last

Wherever you go, I'll be with you  
Whatever you want, I'll give it to you  
Wherever you go, I'll be with you  
Whatever you want, I'll give it to you..." As the music trailed off, the two new voices were clear, and the shades were now full-fledged humans. 

"Trista!" One of them, a blonde, cried in surprise. The moment they stopped singing, however, the two nearly vanished. There were three shrieks of alarm, and Trista let her locket play. Within no time, they were back, confused expressions on their faces as they sang.

The woman with black-blue hair rose a hand and began to sign in sign language. "What happened?? How did he do that?!"

"Very sneakily," Sky answered, looking slightly angry. Her fingers flew so rapidly that her two companions could hardly understand her words.

"Sky, calm down. I called you two because I wanted to know how we got our links to begin with," Trista said, trying to calm her.

"It's beyond me," Ocean said, then hesitated. "Did Michelle tell you?"

Trista choked on her words, momentarily halting the song. "It's true? You haven't lost your link?"

"I haven't. He didn't cut it all the way. But...that's all. I can't find any of you, even though Sky is right here beside me." Ocean looked downcast.

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. However, she can't come to me, or he'd kill us."

"I can't believe it. He was one of our best friends," Sky signed shakily. "I can't believe it."

"You would if you saw him strike her with that sword of his. If she hadn't have given in, he would've flayed her alive. How much do you two know?"

"Know about what?"

Trista's eyes softened. "Lia?" They could only stare at her, and she saw Ocean clearly pale and Sky tense up, the two cousins remembering her words the foggy night. "He killed her. A long time ago - when they were coming to Earth. Then, yesterday, he brought her back to Earth in her demon form. Atia changed her back, but then she had to leave. She was an angel, and she couldn't live on the Earth. Then she came back when he was about to strike Autumn. He had this...jewel...thing that allowed her return to Earth. She relied on her ability to breathe through other people. He cut that ability and said, if Atia came with him, he'd let her be and not break the crystal." Tears slid down her face. "He lied. He struck up Atia. When they'd gone, the crystal shattered. We don't know if it really killed her or not."

Tears ran down Sky's face, but Ocean's only welled in her eyes. Trista knew her too proud to cry. "Lia." During an interlude, Sky squeaked out the word. Just as fast, it was time to sing again. They didn't communicate beyond singing.

Ocean flinched, and her voice stopped. Sky jumped, then glanced behind her. "We have to go," the blonde signed hastily.

"It was so nice to see you again, Trista. We love you."

"I love you guys too."

With unspoken agreement, they stopped singing. The two faded away, their voices lingering ever so slightly in the song.

Darien could've sworn he had been listening to angels singing.


	26. If Only For A Moment

Serena tapped her pencil listlessly on her desk. She glanced at Autumn's empty desk and sighed. This was the last place she wanted to be - now or ever. She could only think of Atia. Where was she right now? Was she okay? 

"Ms. Tsukino!" Serena jumped. "Can you please tell us the order of the planets in the solar system?"

"Er..." She'd learned this when she was little, but she had long since forgotten. Suddenly words began spilling out of her mouth. "There's the sun...Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars...Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...then Pluto."

Ms. Haruna looked only a little surprised. "Very good." She finished her lecture.

_Wow_, she thought, impressed with herself. _I didn't know I knew that._

"Now, class, please take your literature books. We will return to our study of proverbs."

Serena did so unhappily. Only three of the proverbs had been prophetical; the others were meaningless. Her heart caught, however, when she saw the first line.

_One is trapped away, caught  
The fate of many lay in her decisions.  
The fifth seeks a return,  
The Seekers seek the answer,  
The Guardian seeks the others. _

The end is drawing closer...

-*-

"Ohmygosh. Just how many people are there in the Negaverse?" Atia whispered, ducking back behind the curtain. "There's enough people here to fit every square inch of the sun." Her heart was hammering in her chest. She did not mind making public appearances or banquets, but she _did_ mind this amount of people! It had been so many years since she'd last done something like this...

Sebradon's loud voice reached her ears. He made a few joking comments to get his crowd silent, then went on about..._her_. Her grip on her staff tightened. "Well, you all know I've been tracking down a very special person. It was not until recently that I found her. And now, my friends, my loyal subjects...now she is here." There was cheering loud enough to deafen a person. He glanced over at her. "Please welcome the Protector of a faraway land - Princess Atia!"

-*-

Trista stared into the mirror, willing her two friends to return. But they did not. She took a shuddering breath and watched ThunderClaw walk up to her and put his nose in her hand. The Guardian knelt to the ground and hugged him. She'd never known him to be so friendly before.

"Trista, I...that...you..." Darien stammered, staring at her incredulously. "That was the most amazing singing I'd ever heard!"

She smiled. "Thanks."

"Wow. Just...wow."

_Perfectly remarkable,_ SunChaser agreed, hauling herself up from the heat vent and walking to stand beside Darien. 

"You should hear all five of us," Trista said quietly.

Darien could only smile.

Suddenly stars of pain exploded in Trista's head. The black wolf was the only thing holding her up. Something that felt like what she figured to be a heart attack made her chest hurt beyond any normal reasoning. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.

The insistent pain that had held her captive since the previous night vanished. The loneliness that had made her cry was gone, the silence replaced by the soft, melodious beating of two hearts. Two of the abandoned links around her heart surged back to life. Tears of relief and joy ran down her face as the pain vanished.

Darien was beside her, hand on her shoulder. "Trista?"

"It worked, Darien. It worked."

*

Atia could see his expression of uncertainty as he eyed her dress. The uncertainty turned to almost puzzled anger when he saw her staff. But the expressions were only in his eyes, and only she could see them. As she walked up to him, oblivious of the crowd, she smiled sweetly.

"Where'd you get that?" he growled, eyes eying the staff.

"Your powers aren't the only strong ones in this place," she whispered, standing on tiptoe and kissing him, as was customary. Then she turned and faced the crowd. There were various forms of welcoming - cheers, clapping.

For a second, she was back on Saturn. For a second, she was staring over the courts of the planets. For a second, she was with her love. For a second, her friends and parents were beside her. For a second, she was home.

She blinked and tried not to wobble.

Sebradon grabbed her shoulder and indicated her to sit. She did so, feeling numb. Releasing her staff, it stood upright on its own accord beside her. She glanced up at Sebradon. He was calling orders and making comments, but she didn't hear him. She could only feel the biting pain of her memories from a time long past. Was this his plan? Did he intend to make her homesick on purpose in an attempt to make her stay? She clutched a fist on her dress, willing her face to be blank and expressionless, as she had learned on Saturn.

The feasting began, but Atia tasted nothing. The food felt like ashes in her mouth and had a similar taste. 

"Are you alright?" Sebradon asked quietly. She gave him a little glare. He smirked. "You've got food on your chin." Atia rolled her eyes and wiped it with her napkin. He studied her for a moment. "Ah, I see. You miss your home, don't you? This reminds you of it. Hm. Interesting."

Atia remained silent for a moment, poking at her food. "Sebradon? Can I ask you something?" 

"Of course."

"Do you even feel even the slightest bit of remorse for killing Lia?"

His fork stopped halfway to his mouth. He didn't look angry, only thoughtful. He lowered the fork back to his plate. "Good question." He paused. "Truthfully, Atia? I'd have to say no." She watched him, and his eyes lightened for a split second, then clouded back over. "Nope."

The woman turned her gaze back to her plate. A single tear ran down her cheek.


	27. Four Weeks

It had been a day short of a month since her mistress had disappeared, and the golden wolf was still having trouble sleeping. Hearing a sound, SunChaser lifted her head and stood, a frown ceasing her canine face. She trotted into the kitchen, then froze as her sky blue eyes saw through the darkness. _Trista!!_ She flew across the room and grabbed the woman's wrist in her powerful jaws, not biting, only holding, and stared at her incredulously. _What are you doing?!_

Trista looked away. The knife rolled out of her fingers and hit the ground.

*

"And your decision is?" Sebradon watched her intently.

_I can't do this_, Atia thought in alarm. _I can't leave him!_ Suddenly a strong feeling of warmth worked its way into the rapid beating of her heart. _Ocean_. She swallowed, then looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm going back to Earth." As she heard the words come from her mouth, she inwardly panicked. She almost hadn't meant to say that. She watched his oncoming rage without emotion, keeping it bottled away. "I'm going back to my friends."

"You are aware that I'll return in two fortnights? The attacks will resume. I will kill you."

Atia chuckled, hiding her fear, dismay, and confusion. "Don't count your eggs before they hatch, love."

His eyes narrowed. "So be it." He snapped his fingers. As Atia faded before him, he shouted, "Two fortnights!"

*

Atia found herself hovering above Tokyo. It was just before sunrise, and the sky bled red and pink light. An old phrase rang through her head - "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky by morning, sailor's warning." Everything in the city seemed to be intact. Something inside of her tingled and roared back to life. 

"I haven't lost my powers!" She could've screamed in delight. The power was intensified here, so much so it made her want to blow something up. She'd had power this great once before, before the Silver Millennium, so long ago.

Yet this wasn't it. She had more to gain, more to earn. However, she had only four weeks. With the power she had now, she could hurt Sebradon badly. Atia frowned. She couldn't hurt him. She had to kill him. The thought made her joy die.

The woman glanced below her and thought. What should she do first? _See Trista, that's what_, she thought bitterly. _I can't believe him. And Autumn. I need to make sure Autumn's okay._

But before all of that, she remembered she had school.

*

Darien sat down and buried his face in his hands with a sigh. He was worried sick about Atia. There was no way in knowing whether or not she was safe. A hand clapped him on the back, and he jumped in surprise.

"Hey, man, don't worry. I'm sure the chick can take care of herself," Andrew said with a wink.

Darien smiled. Andrew didn't know the half of it - but it was reassuring none the less. "Thanks, Andrew."

"No sweat." Andrew walked on to his seat, and Darien put his hands back over his face.

He was like that for about a minute when he heard the chair beside him move and the soft sound of books being set on the table. Hardly daring to hope, he kept his face in his hands. "Ah, come on, Darien. You're not that upset to be here, are you? I thought you liked school."

The boy looked up slowly. Atia was standing beside him, arms crossed and one leg cocked. Staring up at her, he had a feeling of deja vu so strong he saw white. He stood up uncertainly, then reached out and touched her shoulder. "You're back."

Atia smiled. "You know how they say, 'If you love something, let it go? If it comes back it shows it's for keeps'?" He nodded. She hugged him. "Me and you guys. That's how it's supposed to be. Not me and him."

He hugged her tightly. "Oh, God, Atia, we thought you were gone for good!"

She leaned her cheek on his shoulder. "It'll take more than him to keep me away."

Darien gently pulled her from him and looked her in the eye. "Something's wrong."

"Nothing you need to worry about," she replied, grinning a little.

"Tell me."

The grin faded, and she sat down. "What would you do if, in four weeks, the one you thought you knew and loved would try to destroy everything you sought to protect?" She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Darien, what would you do if you knew you only had four weeks to live?"

*

"Atia?!"

"Amara!" Atia whirled around and caught the girl in a hug.

"Where were you?! What took so long??" Michelle was right behind her cousin and looking just as happy to see her.

"He wouldn't let me go." Her voice choked a little.

Amara let her go and stared at her quietly. "Did he treat you alright?"

Atia closed her eyes for a moment. "Better than I could've hoped." She stared at the ground. "Is Trista okay? Autumn?"

"They're fine." Darien put a hand on her shoulder. "But they miss you."

*

There was a knock on the door, and Trista excused herself to answer it. Barely had she opened it when a familiar figure launched herself on her in a bear hug, and both stumbled back. "Atia!" Trista yelped, wrapping her arms around her. "You're back!"

Amara, Michelle, and Darien followed her in. Luna and Artemis looked uncertainly at them.

"Trista, it's terrible!" Atia was crying and near the point of sobs. "He's going to come back, and this time it'll be for real!" She sank to the ground, and her best friend knelt with her. "He's gonna kill me!"

The Guardian grabbed her shoulders and gave her a firm shake. "Don't say that!" Trista said, but they all heard the panic in her voice. "Atia, don't say that! You'll beat him in this fight! Then we'll be together again, we can stay together! We can find Ocean and Sky and break this stupid curse! Then we'll find a way to bring Lia back and the five us can be together again, like back in the Silver Millennium! We can live in Crystal Tokyo!"

Atia was trembling. "Stop it! Don't say that! You know it'll never be the same!"

"It might not, but at least we'd be together! Atia, don't think that you'll loose because you won't! You're the strongest person I know, and you can beat him. You have all the power you need. Now all you need is a resolution. Tell yourself that he won't win and he won't." Trista visibly calmed down as Atia got more upset.

"But...I...love- him!"

Trista held her close as she started sobbing. "Ssshhh. It's alright, baby, it's alright," she crooned quietly.

"Trista, don't leave me!"

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She kissed Atia on the head, murmuring non-sense words to her, trying to calm her down.

There was a gentle chiming of bells. Luna jumped up, tail enlarging in size. The bells got louder, and then a woman that looked like Michelle stood behind Trista. She saw without seeing, was there without being there. She crouched down and murmured something nobody could hear. Atia glanced up at her, eyes brimming with tears.

With some difficulty, the woman spoke. "We're...right...here...with...you."

Trista didn't even look surprised, even though there was no way she could've seen the woman come.

"Ocean." Atia choked out the word and reached out as to touch the woman, but her hand went right through the hologram.

The woman smiled. The hologram's clarity sharpened then, and they could all see real intelligence in her eyes. "Sky says hello." She glanced beside her at Trista, and they smiled at each other, knowing now that it had worked. 

Atia stared into her cousin's eyes. "You're hiding something from me." Her voice rose again in panic and conviction. "You all are."

"Not now." Ocean looked surprised. "Not now, Atia."

Trista used her free hand to reach around her back and nudge Ocean in the side. "She'll figure it out sooner or later." Ocean shook her head, then sighed in defeat. "Here." A small bag appeared in Trista's hand, and she offered it to Atia.

Atia sat up and stared at it as though it would bite her. She looked at her two friends and then the bag, then reached out. The moment her fingertips grazed it, she screamed and backed away. "NO!! No, no, no!! _Lia_!!!"

Trista and Ocean made no effort to move as Atia jumped to her feet and stood with wide eyes, much like a kitten watching a huge mastiff about to tear it apart. They didn't even try to reason with her or offer an explanation. Atia's wild gaze fixed on the bag. She groaned as though someone had punched her. A strange clouding covered her eyes, blinding her from the world, then took off at a dead-run towards a wall.

And it was then that the three senshi saw why Trista had given Atia a sedative last month.

The whole house shuddered under the impact, and there was a sickening crunch as she ran into it at the wrong angle for one of her shoulders. But she didn't stop. Trista put her hands on the floor, and there was no shaking as Atia hit the wall again and again. Ocean sighed and said something in a language no one understood to someone no one could see.

When the girl had sufficiently spent herself, she dropped to her knees, bruised and bleeding. She got up after a moment, staggered. The injuries suddenly vanished, and she tottered back to Trista and Ocean. She stared at them for a moment - then completely passed out and fell to the ground.

"Just like in the Silver Millennium. She's forgotten everything she's learned about controlling herself," Ocean murmured.

"Can you blame her?" Trista asked dryly.

Ocean sighed. "No. I have to go. If the army catches us, we're dead."

Trista laughed a little. "Are you two getting into trouble again?"

"Who, us? We're just having a little fun," Ocean said innocently.

"Uh-huh." Trista rolled her eyes, then turned and hugged the hologram. "Just stay safe, k?"

Ocean smiled and hugged her back. "Haven't we so far?" Then she vanished.

Artemis's eyes narrowed. "How did she get here if Sebradon severed their links?"

"I don't like this, Artemis. Ocean and Sky are too close to Earth. They're going to find a way around this, I know they are," Luna muttered. The white cat nodded in agreement. "Why couldn't Serenity have brainwashed them when she had the chance?"

"What if they find a way to reconnect their links?" Artemis frowned in distaste.

"Then we're all doomed."

Little did they know...


	28. The Beginning of the End

Atia opened her eyes with a groan. "My head...what happened...? Oh..." Horror raced across her mind, peaking with despair and disbelief. Raw anger forced its way in as well. Rolling over onto her stomach, she buried her face into the pillow and began to sob. 

Luna sat silently in the doorframe, unnoticed by the sailor. She was still confused. Why had Sebradon broke Lia's crystal? All the enemies they had ever encountered always kept their word. Would Sebradon really stoop so low?

Why did she hate Atia so much?

The question was unexpected and unwelcomed. She didn't want to think about it. As far back as she could remember, she hated Atia. But wasn't she a sailor senshi too? Wasn't she a powerful guardian of the senshi?

Before she knew what she was doing, Luna walked over to the bed and turned into human form. She reached out uncertainly and put a hand on Atia's back. She didn't know what she was expecting to feel, but as her hand touched smooth fabric, she realized that Atia was like any other person she'd ever touched.

Atia didn't seem to notice her. Her heart-felt sobs made Luna sad. While she had unwittingly destroyed the Silver Millennium, Luna thought with a start, she had just as unwittingly caused Crystal Tokyo to come about. That thought killed any hate she had towards Atia - or Trista, Lia, Ocean, and Sky.

*

"Pluto Planet Power, Make-Up!!"  
"Moon Prism Power, Make-Up!!"  
"Mars Planet Power, Make-Up!!"  
"Mercury Planet Power, Make-Up!!"  
"Venus Planet Power, Make-Up!!"  
"Jupiter Planet Power, Make-Up!!"  
"Uranus Planet Power, Make-Up!"  
"Neptune Planet Power, Make-Up!!"  
"Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!!"  
Sebradon laughed. "You're brave, Pluto, to face me alone."

"I'm not alone." Her eyes glared at him. "Now or ever."

"I beg to differ." He smiled in a victory he'd already won. "Lia's gone. Ocean and Sky are forbidden to return. Atia will no longer face me." He laughed. "You can no longer call upon your friends to come and help you." His eyes suddenly narrowed. "And, believe me, Trista, you'll need help."

None of the senshi doubted him for a moment.

*

Atia jerked up, sniffing and quivering. "Trista..." She couldn't feel her friend's pain any more, but she could sense trouble. She looked at Luna, wiping her eyes. "Luna, will you help me?"

"I will to the best of my ability."

"Artemis, will you?"

Sometime during her breakdown, Artemis had joined them as well. He gave a nod. "I will."

Atia smiled shakily. "Thank you both."

*

Sebradon glowered at Pluto. She had cunning, speed, agility, and one more thing he could barely put his finger on - anger. She had eluded him so far, but he had not been able to dodge all of her blasts. And he was getting angry.

He raised his hand, and powers gathered on it. Pluto watched him warily, her darting eyes quick to judge. "No more playing around." The power suddenly disappeared from his hand. It appeared silently behind her and blasted her from behind.

"Uranus World Shaking!!"

"Neptune Deep Submerge!!"

He stuck his hand toward the attacks. They hit his hand and recoiled back towards their owners, who managed to jump out of the way. "I would suggest, girls, not to get involved."

"Leave her alone, Sebradon!" Mini Moon shouted unhappily.

"Aren't you cute?" he asked with a wry smile. "I'll be damned if I knew where you came from, shortie."

"You'll be damned if you touch her!" Pluto regained her senses in time to fire the retort.

"And who's going to do it?" Sebradon asked sweetly, staring at the Guardian as he fired at Mini Moon.

"I don't know, but I'll help." A familiar figure suddenly appeared in front of Mini Moon, catching the fatal powers in her hands and hurtling them back at him. Caught off-guard, he went flying backwards.

"Luna!" Mini Moon cried, staring up at her. Looking to her left, she was just as surprised to see - "Artemis!"

"How'd you two get here?" Sailor Moon inquired, scratching her head in confusion.

"Why you-" Since they had never liked Atia, he had never liked them, and now he hated them tenfold. He had his arm raised and was about to throw the power when a white gloved hand caught his wrist, suspending it into the air.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," she said quietly, squeezing his wrist so hard that they all heard a faint pop. She shoved him roughly backwards, the power disappearing at his surprise. "You didn't think your plan all the way through. Giving me back my powers at the Negaverse? Fool!" Kicking the back of his ankles and pushing him again, he fell to his backside.

"You're the fool!" he shouted, stumbling back to his feet as the shock died away. "Do you know how easily I could kill all the senshi and still have enough power to destroy your freaking planets?!"

Solar sidled up to him and whispered something that made him look taken aback, then smile darkly. Pulling away, Solar proclaimed, "However, I'm going to make you work for it." Before he could move, she blasted him hard in the chest (sending him to the ground) and jumped back as she did so.

He shouted an insult towards her as pain racked him from head to foot. Scowling, he scrambled to his feet and glared at her furiously as she healed Pluto's injury. "This is far from over, Sailor Solar! This is only the beginning!"

"The beginning of the end for you!"

"Four weeks!" He vanished in a roar of flame.

"Are you okay?" Solar looked down at Pluto.

"I'm fine."

"He was trying to kill you!" Sailor Moon blurted. "How can you be fine?!"

"He only hit me once, didn't he?"

"Well, yeah, but aren't you afraid he'll come back when you're sleeping?"

"If he had wanted to kill me that badly he would've done so already," Pluto replied evenly.

"Either you're both brave or you're stupid," Uranus said, "to not be afraid of him."

"I can't be afraid of him. I don't know how." Solar rubbed her forehead. "God help me, I still love him. I don't know how I left him."

"With a strong heart, that's how. I've heard it said, 'When love is your greatest weakness, you will be the strongest person in the world.' I think that saying was written for you," Venus said with a smile.

Solar smiled at her. "You just might be right."

*

Atia devoted every waking moment to training. She was beyond the physical point of exhaustion and human ability. During the day she would work out at the gym, sing, or a variety of other things. At night she ran huge distances through forests and difficult terrains. She rarely slept.

The last week, though, that all changed. She spent a lot of time with the senshi.

*

A red marker made an X over a date marked D-Day. Pulling on a light sweater, she jogged downtown and past to an old theater on the outskirts of the town. It was long since abandoned and was about to be torn down. With a weary grin, she figured she'd do the city of Tokyo one last favor and do it for them.

Entering the old building, she suppressed a shudder. The place was huge, gigantic, could hold well over two hundred people - on the stage. Sitting down in the center of the theater, she began to sing.

"This is all I've got   
This is all I say  
If this were my last day  
This is my last song  
It's all I got  
Is I break my soul  
Don't you break my heart  
Won't you sing along  
This is my last song  
It's all I got  
So don't you break my heart

Cause all I got is my world,  
I give it to you.  
Now it might not be much,  
But it's all I got.  
This is all I say  
So please don't walk away.  
This is my last song  
It's all I got  
If I break my soul,  
Don't you break my heart  
Won't you sing along  
This is my last song  
It's all I got  
So don't you break my heart

If this were my last breath  
Or my last day  
Or my last chance  
This is what I'd say  
Thank you for the laughter  
Thank you for the tears  
Time to say good-bye  
I say good-bye..."

Her voice echoed around the theater strangely. Tears ran down her face. Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, soft lips brushed her neck.

"So beautiful." He sighed. "Too bad I'll have to destroy you."

"If this is how it was supposed to be," Atia said stiffly, "then so be it." She pulled out of his grasp and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Solar System Power!!" Sailor Solar stood before him. "Come on, Sebradon. Let's go."


	29. Love Gone Wrong

Trista started. Something was wrong. Very wrong. She stood up shakily, not offering an explanation to the senshi as she began to pace. Atia was late for the meeting, yes, but she was known for being late. But what if... 

_Fire!_ Fiery pain staggered its way across her heart, her danger sense that lay dormant. Funny, all the senshi were here...except Atia...and that meant..."She lied!" her hoarse cry caught them all off guard. "She lied!"

Running to the door, she slammed it open. Suddenly all she could see was black. She heard the shouting of the senshi, them following her, but she was faster, so much faster..._darkness_...she'd trained with Atia, so long ago...

_**Silver Millennium**_ Atia stood up, smiling as she excused herself. Lia followed her. "Something's wrong, isn't there?"

Atia's brilliant smile confused her. "He's back, Lia. He's back."

Lia frowned. "Atia, I don't think..." She was silenced by her twin's hug and sudden disappearance. Her cousins and friend were before her as she turned around. "He's back."

"You sound less than thrilled, cousin," Ocean said with amusement. "Are you jealous?"

"Don't you think it's ironic, Oce?" Lia asked quietly, using her cousin's pet name. "I mean, exactly a year ago he left, on the princess's birthday. Please, tell me I'm not the only one."

"Ironic, yes, but nothing to be worried about," Sky said dismissively.

"I'm going to stay back here."

"Then we'll stay with you," Trista smiled, plopping herself down and apparently not caring that her expensive dress was getting dirty. Ocean and Sky did the same.

Soon an uneasy feeling overtook them all. Then, with a suddenness that nearly made them pass out, pain whipped their minds, hearts, and bodies. When the pulsating pain passed, then waited a nerve-racking fifteen minutes before Solar appeared, bloodied and broken. She didn't even seem to see them as she raced into the room. 

As the quartet watched in astonishment, she jumped onto the banquet table and began shouting in her booming army voice, "All armies to arms! Guard the princesses! Block the doors!" Suddenly the doors exploded off of their hinges, and wild gunfire and power blasts thundered throughout the room. Screams and chaos rang through the air powerfully.

"Oh my God," Lia whispered in horror. "Saturn Planet Power, Make-Up!" The other three were not far behind.

"Good evening, ladies," a familiar silky voice said warmly.

"Sebradon! Stop this madness!" Saturn shrieked.

Then they noticed something totally off. His normally hazel eyes were nearly black and an upside-down black heart was on his forehead. "I'm afraid I cannot do that. Ocean, Sky, how much do you love your daughters?"

"Sebradon, leave them out of this!" Uranus said in alarm.

"I did. But my army didn't. It seems your cousin isn't as good as protecting as she should be."

The two women whirled around. In the abandoned court floor, the bodies of many nobles lay unheeded.

Princess Michelle of Neptune. Princess Amara of Uranus.

Both fatal casualties of love gone wrong.

**_Now_** There was silence around the theater. Finding the doors locked, Sailor Pluto box-kicked the door in. 

And found herself facing a gigantic army.

There was no way Solar could still be alive.

*

"OhmyGod," Neptune hissed, seeing the army. Far into the battle, they heard a familiar shout, and a huge explosion sent light flying. "Solar."

"Let's go! Every senshi for themself!" Uranus was gone before anyone could stop her.

As Sailor Moon, Sailor Mini Moon, and Tuxedo Mask entered the building last, they found themselves face-to-face with Sebradon. "Prince, princesses," he said with a charming smile. "I'm sure Solar would not wish to see you hurt. If you'll allow me..." They suddenly found themselves behind bars in what must've been the center in the stage. The army all around them seemed oblivious to their presences. "What type of a joke is this?!" Tuxedo Mask demanded angrily, slamming into one of the bars that wouldn't budge.

"Don't change his mind, Tuxedo Mask! At least we're safe," Mini Moon pleaded. A loud clang brought their attention behind them. Pluto and Sebradon both had swords, and the swords were crossed in the air.

"I told you you were next, Trista," Sebradon said, his voice unmistakable over the roar of battle.

"I won't go without a fight." The army seemed oblivious to the duo. Drawing back, they began an intricate duel, one that would have only one winner. The three trapped fighters could only watch in frightened awe at the graceful parries, thrusts, and blocks. They'd never seen any two people so skilled with a sword.

They seemed to fight for eternity, neither tiring or getting struck. The trio began to think that maybe, just maybe, Pluto could outsmart the man and kill him. But that hope was crushed when Sebradon suddenly struck her sword arm, and, while she was switching the sword from hand to hand, drove his blade straight through her chest.

Pluto didn't make a sound as he withdrew the sword and stood on swaying feet. She glared at him. "I never...thought you'd resort to this. Killing...your friends..." as she spoke, blood began to seep from her mouth over her lips. "Someday, when you realize what you've done...you'll be sorry." She collapsed. Sebradon stared at her for a moment, then shrugged and turned back into his army.

"Pu..." Mini Moon whispered in horror. _Struck down right before her eyes_...

"Pluto! No!" Sailor Moon shrieked, falling to her knees. "Plutooo!"

In the time it took to blink, Solar was right beside Pluto, knelt down and picked her shoulders up. "Trista, I'm sorry..." None of the army seemed to see either of them.

"Don't...be." Pluto smiled weakly. "I love you, Atia. Remember...that."

"Oh..." Before Solar could say anything else, Pluto's eyes slid shut, and her friend's head turned to one side. "No!" She hugged the sailor to her, as though she could save her. "Trista..." Pluto's body disappeared. Solar stood, face set with anger. "_ENOUGH!!_" Every warrior, good or evil, heard her shout. The entire army abruptly vanished, leaving the senshi standing around.

With three strides Solar approached the cage, then cleaved the bars of one side off with her sword. Too shaken to move, they stared at the spot where Pluto had fallen. Sebradon came up to her, dangerously calm. "You!" Solar was shaking in fury as she turned to face him. "Are you happy now, Sebradon?! Are you?! You've killed my sister and my best friend, and they never once hurt you! _Damn you_!" Her hand came up and slapped him clear across the face.

"I see you've survived my army well enough," the man said dryly. "Now it's between me and you, princess." A huge transparent globe that took up half the stage appeared. "Shall we?"

"May the most deserving win." If looks could kill, Sebradon would've been dead. They both phased out, then appeared inside of the globe.

Luna, Artemis, and Diana bounded into the theater. "It has begun," Luna said quietly, shaking her head. "The strongest fighters in the universe...it's a shame only one will survive."

"What if it's Sebradon, mommy?" Diana asked nervously.

"Then, Diana, we're as good as dead."

*

"Anything you want to say?" Sebradon smirked. 

Solar glared at him. "Go to hell."

"Not before you." With that, he propelled a black blast of fire at Solar. She dodged it.

The fight to the finish had begun.


	30. The Show Must Go On

The senshi had never seen such power in their lives. Not even the Silver Imperium Crystal had wielded that type of strength. For the longest of times it seemed that they were getting nowhere - neither got hit, neither weakened. Then, suddenly, with no clear view of who'd been struck first, they were exploding blast upon blast on each other. 

The power didn't dwindle even as the physical bodies of the fighters began to show the effort of the attacks. Being struck repeatedly was having its effect, wearing, bloodying, and wearing at them constantly.

Suddenly Solar froze as an object appeared in Sebradon's hand. It was a staff, one that they had seen before. Bands of ribbon began to fall over the flame inside the staff, and the sailor began to wince. With a dull roar, the flame was covered. It exploded.

The force blew both Solar and Sebradon back into the walls of the shield. The brutal winds roared over them mercilessly, but somehow they stood. Staring, they prepared their powers for one final onslaught. Solar rose her hands above her head. The mass of power that grew there didn't even seem real, nor did Sebradon's. The winds died suddenly.

There was complete silence. "Sebradon!" Solar's voice sounded stronger than it should've been.

"Yes?" He sounded tired.

"One thing." Were those tears in her eyes? "No matter what you do or say, I will always love you. I'm not fighting you out of hate. I'm fighting you to make you see what you've done in hopes that someday you'll realize it yourself. You can kill me, destroy my friends, and blow up planets, but I will still love you." The tears ran down her cheeks now. "This is for the Silver Millennium."

Sebradon, unfazed, released his powers at the same time she did. The explosion shook the theater to its roots. The globe was filled with light. The ground rumbled, and the shield exploded upwards, blasting a hole through the ceiling. Through the noise two faint screams were heard, followed by crushing force of bone against bone.

When the senshi could see again, they were astonished to see Sebradon and Solar laying side beside each other, thrown together by the blast. Solar was on her side, surrounded by her own blood. Sebradon groaned and hauled himself onto his elbows. "Atia. God, Atia, please wake up!" He gently rolled her onto her back. Sailor Moon shook her head, then ran up to them, falling to her knees and shaking.

"Nnnn...." Solar's right eye opened, focused hazily on Sebradon. The other was bloodied and since non-responsive. "Se?"

"Atia!"

Solar smiled in relief. "It's you."

"Atia, I-"

"Hush." She rose a bloodied hand and touched it to his lips. "I know. I know." 

Sebradon sighed and leaned down, touching his lips to hers before laying back down. "I hope you can forgive me. And, princess? I love you too. Forever." He lay his head on her shoulder and seemed to go to sleep.

"Sebradon...oh, don't you dare....you can't....Sebradon!" Her voice rose shrilly in fear and disbelief. Tears ran out of her open eye. "No." Her body convulsed, and she gave a soft groan as blood ran from her mouth. She was dying, and she knew it.

"Atia." Solar looked at Sailor Moon wearily. "Atia, if you hang on for just a minute, we can get help...you don't have to die too, please..."

"Princess, nobody can help me now."

"If it's power you need-"

The entire theater started shaking violently. It was old and the fight had caused it to become unstable. "Go!" Solar pleaded. "Go on! Get out of here!"

Sailor Moon found herself getting up and turning, then running. When she tried to stop, to jam her legs, they wouldn't. She glanced around and saw the other senshi running too. There were miniature explosions as the ancient building began to cave in. "Solar! No!" She planted her feet into the ground but to no avail.

"She's still alive! We have to go back!" Destruction cried as they were all propelled out the door.

They looked to the doorway just in time to see a rafter fall and block the sailor and her love from view. The part of the theater above them gave out completely, and the roof fell in. They were forced to look away as the rest of the ceiling and the walls fell in, creating a whirlwind of dust and flying splinters. When the tremors finally stopped, they stared in dismay at the leveled building. There was no trace of either man or woman, but there again, how could there be?

"It is done," Artemis murmured, blinking rapidly to clear smoke from his eyes.

"No. No, it can't be! Not her and Pluto both! We've lost more than we've ever gained! She's still alive, she has to be!" Sailor Moon cried.

"Serena, look at it," Uranus said shakily. "Do you think she could've survived a cave-in like that in her currant condition? It probably knocked the stage out from beneath them. They're buried under all of it."

"Hardly a fitting grave," Neptune whispered.

Suddenly two figures appeared on the rumble, looking around frantically in the debris. A blonde woman began yelling something in a language they did not understand, pointing at the spot where they had last seen Solar. She ran to it and began shouldering large rafters away, much larger than even the strongest person would've attempted. Layers of wood chunks spilled away with it. Giving up in a cry of dismay, she made a sweeping motion as the other woman tried to prevent her from doing so. An explosion of upwards wind made them both step back.

"Oh, no," Luna groaned. "Not now, not now..."

"They're going to kill us," Artemis agreed, sitting down hard. "I can just hear it now..."

The blonde peered down into the huge hole she had created and jumped away, blubbering something. The other woman glanced down and shuddered, falling to her knees and staring down in it.

It was like this before the ground began shaking mal-violently. The two women nimbly leaped clear of the rubble, though regretfully, and watched as the building totally disappeared into the ground, falling into its own basements.

When the rumbles ceased, Destruction let out a high-pitched whistle that sounded like the call of a bird. This caught the attention of the newcomers immediately. Within moments they stood before the senshi, looking upset and shocked. "_Autahna?_" the blonde whispered, looking near tears.

"Sky." The woman stared at the girl as though she spoke a different language. "Luna, Artemis, tell them it's Japanese. They know so many different languages..."

"But there's one they know the best." Luna came forward and stared at them evenly. "_Skie, Oshawna. Ka wastino lan Janase?_" she asked quietly.

"Ah..." the dark-haired woman looked momentarily confused. "_Janase, Janase_...oh! Right."

"I'd forgotten this one," her companion admitted, then frowned and stepped back. "Luna?" Her haunting silver eyes stared at the other feline. "Artemis?"

"What happened? Where's Trista?!" Ocean's voice rose in fear.

"Ocean, Sky, please..." Artemis started

"No! Where is she?!"

"She and Atia are both dead. Sebradon killed them," Diana said bluntly, but the hurt showed in her voice.

"And you know perfectly well what happened and why," Luna agreed softly.

"No! No, no, no! They're not dead! They're not! They can't be!" Sky shrieked hysterically, tears running down her face. Staring at their grim faces, she sank to her knees and began to sob.

"Oh, God..." Ocean groaned, covering her face with her hands. "This can't be happening. It can't be. She's too strong. She'd never let Trista get hurt. She'd never hurt Sebradon." Her voice broke. "She'd never leave _us_!"

"I'm afraid she did all that. Ocean!" Artemis yelped as Sky jumped up and looked ready to run back into the collapsing debris. No sooner had he spoke than the distraught woman whirled around and grabbed her blonde cousin firmly, knocking her legs beneath her and forcing her to sit, hard, on the ground.

"Why did you warn me?" Ocean fought her relative to keep her sitting, but her voice showed neither stress or effort.

"We want to apologize. For acting like we did in the Silver Millennium," Luna blurted. "We realized that Atia..."

"Is not a sorceress and loves the prince and princess so much that she would die for them - like she just did? I'm going to guess you didn't give her or Trista the satisfaction of knowing that," Ocean replied in a shaky voice. The two cats stared submissively at the ground. Sky had given up sobbing and struggling and just sat miserably, tears still coursing down her face. 

Before anyone could react, an arc of light shot out from under the rubble of the theater and soared right into the heavens. For a fleeting moment they thought they saw a familiar figure beside Sky. She shoved something into her cousin's hands, then vanished with the light.

Sky stared at the objects in her hands. They were two well-loved CD cases, shiny black with plenty of scratches. The items were about the size of notebooks with the word 'Selruntous' written in neat silver print on the covers. One said 'CDs' and the other said 'Concerts.' She gasped and held them as though they were sacred relics. "Ocean...look." She held them above her head, and her shaking cousin took them from her. "How'd she get them?" Her voice shook.

"I'd be damned if I knew." She looked at the senshi, and they saw a small light of happiness on her face. "Do you guys have DVD players here?"

"They're still new, but yes, we do," Mercury replied.

Sky sighed in relief and wiped her eyes, doing little to stop the flow. Mini Moon stared at her in wonder. She felt drawn to her for a reason she couldn't have put her finger on if she'd tried. She walked over to and knelt down beside her. Sky regarded her quietly, then reached out and held her. Mini Moon leaned against her and put her arms around her neck, feeling oddly safe. _She reminds me of Puu..._

Sirens wailed in the distance. Sky stood up uncertainly. It was then the senshi noticed the two women were garbed in fuku outfits identical to their own. In unspoken agreement they all detransformed. 

"You two can stay with me, if you want," Darien said kindly, squeezing Serena's arm as she began to protest instinctively.

"Thank you, prince," Ocean smiled sadly. Her eyes had a sudden golden tint to them. As though realizing it, her eyebrows raised, and she wiped her eyes hastily. She held the CD cases against her almost protectively.

"Please, call me Darien. Oh, that's right. We have new names here. This is Serena, Raye, Mina, Lita, Amy, and she's Rini. She's our daughter from the future. And this is Diana. She's Luna's and Artemis's daughter, from the future as well. I see you both recognize Autumn." He looked ready to say more, but the sirens got louder. "Let's get going." Darien gently nudged Serena.

"What...oh, never mind," Sky started, then glanced over her shoulder at the theater. Ocean's gaze followed hers, then dropped as she followed the senshi. "Little princess, they didn't suffer, did they?" she asked quietly.

"No. Puu died quickly, and Atia died with him beside her. They were...my best friends..." her voice trailed off as her tears came back.

"Sky! Come on! We're going home!"

"Home." The blonde's eyes hardened as she began to walk. "Home is no more."


	31. Preview of Book 3

The Truth, Book 3: Omega

Preview

* * *

"What are we supposed to do now?" 

"Live out our lives here, I guess."

"But we're going to live forever."

"Nobody lives forever."

"The Children do."

"Hush. We're not supposed to know about them."

"But we do. How old are we?"

"Only thirty-five thousand."

"Listen to what you just said. Do I have to slap you?"

"That's thirty-five in Earth years."

Silence. "I don't want to live the rest of my life without them."

"Nor do I, but there's nothing you and I can do." Pause. "You know that no matter who or what we try to be, we're only human."

"Only human? We're senshi. Senshi aren't just humans. And we're not just senshi. We're minor Children in our own rights. I think being able to summon a bolt of lightning out of the sky during a blizzard makes me different. Your ability to drown a person in a desert isn't exactly normal, either."

"All right, all right, we're not just human. But, Sky, that still doesn't mean we can bring three people back to life again."

"'If there's a will, there's a way.' Ocean, we have a will, so there _is_ a way. We just...have to find it, is all."

* * *

Wow. An author's note...^^;;

I guess this story demands some explaining, ne?

Here goes.

I came up with the concept of 'Sailor Solar System' and 'Atia Tamuchi' some four or five years ago. I struggled in vain to actually write a series-like story for her, not just one-shots or long, pointless stories that, while good, could never fit into the Sailor Moon world for obvious reasons. Then, two years ago, I had a writing spasm and spewed all thirty (one, had I included the prologue) chapters out within two days. I promptly left it alone, too afraid to go back and mess with it and risk losing what I'd written. I was so afraid of it I never actually read it or even accessed the files. In time, I just flat-out forgot about it. Then in July 2003 a friend and I were screwing around on my computer, going deep into the dark, abandoned caves of my account and shooting dust bunnies the size of semi trucks, when we found it.

I guess I did a really good job of forgetting, huh?

I was ecstatic. Finally over my fear of screwing my stories up, I went back and read them with my friend. Some of the chapters made no sense whatsoever and there were spelling and grammar errors galore, for I write everything in WordPad then run it through Word before publishing it. By this time I was an avid FanFiction.net reader and member, though I'd posted nothing of my own. My friend dared me to post the story, unedited, on FF.net and my own site (which I immediately converted to being a dedication to the story) by saying she'd give me ten bucks. I don't really think she expected me to do it because, at the time, she was broke.

But I did anyway. ^.~

So, that's this story's story: it's simply an ill-fated victim of a teenage dare.

I know it sucks, I really do. The grammar and spelling are atrocious, the plot is screaming for help, and chapters 14-17 make as much sense as a presidential slogan being 'cu cu kachoo.'

Maybe someday I'll go back and re-write it, maybe I won't. Right now I'm in a stand-off between finishing the first and last books of 'The Truth,' writing the last book of 'Someone to Believe,' and trying to scoop up all the Gundam Wing plot bunnies running around my head and do something with them. (Like shooting them with a forty-five.) But, now that I know about it, I'm not going to forget about it again.

Oh yeah; the reason there aren't many reviews is because I uploaded the first 20 chapters within two days, 10 chapters at a time. So if you only read stories that have a certain amount of reviews per chapter and deemed this one beneath your reading status before, get a clue, because that's an awful habit.

Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers and readers, and I wish you all the best of luck in writing your own stories! *hugs, kisses, and candy!*

By the way...this story won't be continued on FF.net. The insert at the top was just a teaser. ;P

Ciao! 


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